Return to Hinamizawa
by Michael S. Repton
Summary: The arrival of a newcomer in Hinamizawa heralds the start of a new series of mysteries. Can our heroes find a path through the labyrinth of tragedy to defeat Fate a second time?
1. Prologue

**(o)  
><strong>

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa**

a _Higurashi no naku koro ni_ fan fiction by Michael S. Repton

**Prologue**

* * *

><p><strong>Medical report by Dr Yamamoto Shiho, Kyoto, 23 May 2003<strong>

Patient: Teramachi Miaka

Date of birth: 31 May 1988

Description of case: The patient was admitted after a bout of disorganised and assaultive behaviour.

Chief complaint: While much of her speech is incoherent, Miaka seems to be fixated on the idea of killing her parents, especially her mother. Her father explained to me that last night, while both parents were absent from the house, she discovered a certificate stating that she was adopted by her current parents, which she had not previously been aware of. On their return, she confronted them and accused them of "stealing" her; when they tried to pacify her, she became violent and attacked with a knife. (The mother is currently being treated for wounds to the forearm and chest, which are not believed to be serious.) Miaka's father emphasised that until this incident, their family life had been harmonious, and that he considers her behaviour, even allowing for the shock of the discovery, to be atypical for the patient and indicative of a deeper abnormality.

Mental status examination: The patient was severely agitated and behaved violently towards hospital staff members. When put under restraint, she seemed to be hallucinating, as she repeatedly screamed out in alarm and pressed herself into her seat even when no other person was present. She has been sedated, and no further examination has been carried out at this time.

Past psychiatric history: No previous illnesses or treatment.

Diagnosis: Level 4 Hinamizawa Syndrome? I have discussed Miaka's case by telephone with Dr Irie Kyousuke of Hinamizawa, an authority on this disease, and his opinion is that all symptoms are consistent with this diagnosis. However, a confident assessment will require examination of blood samples. As Dr Irie's clinic is equipped to make such an examination and to administer treatment, I have recommended that the patient be referred to his care, and her parents have agreed to this.

* * *

><p><strong>Diary of Dr Irie Kyousuke, Hinamizawa, 1 June 2003<strong>

Teramachi Miaka regained consciousness this morning. Her memory was hazy at first, but seems to be recovering well. As might be expected, she remembers very little of her Level 4 stage, and was convinced that she had actually cut her mother's heart out; fortunately, in the end she accepted my assurance that this was not the case. After seeing so many tragedies caused by the Syndrome, I am so glad that in this case, the worst was averted. Miaka seems to be an intelligent and likable young person, and it is terrible to think of what might have happened and how close she came.

As well as telling Miaka the truth about what happened that night, I have explained to her about the nature of the Syndrome, and recommended that she remain in the clinic for a month, to which she has agreed. I do not think there is much danger of a relapse, but it is better to be safe than sorry, and if she stays here it will be much easier to administer treatment on the spot. In addition, her staying here may prove to be vital for my research. I must now attempt to discover how she came to contract the disease – I fervently hope there is not about to be a new outbreak in Kyoto! When I completed the cure all those years ago, I hoped that would be the last the world would ever hear of Hinamizawa Syndrome. Is this the sign of a new terror about to be unleashed?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Welcome to _Return to Hinamizawa_, my contribution to the current spate of epic-length _Higurashi_ fics. (At the time of writing this, _Green-Eyed Demon_ has just finished, _The Champion Trilogy_ is on its second book, Wolfeden's _Higurashi Kan_ is steaming ahead, and Cherrylin's _Kurushii-hen_ has just started. I don't know whether that makes this a specially good time to be adding another to the pile, or a specially bad one!)

Before I start, I'd like to say a few words about the kind of story this is.

You've probably already noticed the date: 2003, twenty years after _Matsuribayashi_. Yes, this means the _Higurashi_ cast have grown up and had children, and there will be a lot of OCs. The first arc (Predestination) focuses on introducing Miaka and the next-gens, but in the story overall, focus will be shared roughly evenly between the next-gens and the original cast. You will find out what has happened to all the _Higurashi_ characters in the intervening twenty years, but this information will be spread out so as not to slow the story down with too much infodumping at the beginning (and because some details are unknown to the viewpoint characters; these are part of the mystery and cannot be revealed early).

Other than the Prologue, the story is told in first-person, with each arc having a different narrator. I didn't actually plan it that way to start with; I only got the idea once the sequence of arcs already had a firm shape, and so had to choose my narrators to fit the structure I had already created. This means that not everyone gets a turn to narrate, and I know this may disappoint fans of particular characters. However, all the characters are still an important part of the story, whether they ever narrate or not.

This story uses Japanese name order, family name first.

Each story arc opens with a quotation from Nietzsche's _Thus Spoke Zarathustra_; for these I am using the translation by R. J. Hollingdale. In some cases I may abridge a longer quotation, or slightly alter the punctuation.

Please leave reviews. My main reason for writing this story is that, once the idea got into my head, it would not give me any peace until I had got it out again; but it would still make me happy to know that people are reading it, and even happier if you let me know what you like about it and what I could improve on. Once the story gets going, I would also love to hear your predictions and guesses, and if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

Someone just tapped me on the shoulder. I think Miaka is impatient to begin her narrative, so I'll pass you over to her.

* * *

><p><strong>Additional note<strong>

If you prefer to know who's who among the next generation before starting the story, this information is now available in **Appendix 1**, which is entirely spoiler-free (it does tell you which _Higurashi_ characters are married to which, but everything in the Appendix is revealed in the first three chapters anyway).


	2. Part I Ch 1 Going Under

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

narrated by Teramachi Miaka

* * *

><p><em>The evil deed is like a boil:<br>it itches and irritates and breaks forth. It speaks honourably._

_"Behold, I am disease!"  
>Thus speaks the evil deed; that is its honesty.<em>

_But the petty thought is like a canker:  
>it creeps and hides and wants to appear nowhere,<br>until the whole body is rotten and withered by little cankers._

* * *

><p><strong>1<br>Going Under**

I faced my enemy, my breath tight. There was fear in her eyes, sweet fear; I could almost taste its sweetness. As for the other one, the man, he lay on the floor behind me, screeching in pain. I felt no sympathy. He was the one who'd tried to attack me. Poor fool. He hadn't known that I was holding a knife. _Idiot_. Had he really expected me to surrender without a fight?

"Please," she whispered. Her eyelids fluttered in terror, and her whole body was trembling. She was backing away, desperately prolonging it, but there was not much further back she could go. "Please, Miaka! Remember... I'm your mother!"

I looked up. I looked her straight in the eyes, screwing up my face as though intensifying my glare could somehow make it pierce her like a dagger. Her eyes were wide and empty, devoid of expression. How could I ever have looked into those eyes and fooled myself that I saw love there?

"_You're not my mother! You stole me!_" I cried. It felt so good to get it out at last; it was hard to stop myself laughing. "You lied to me all these years. Pretending you loved me. Pretending you cared about me, when you just wanted to use me. Well, I'm putting a stop to it now."

She stood frozen; her mouth had fallen open, but no words would come out. Not that anything she could say would make a difference now. I wasn't going to let myself be taken in by her lies any more. The time had come; I was going to claim my freedom. I'd waited so long for this moment, and I relished it. The knife was in my hand. I lunged forward –

* * *

><p>No. This won't do. I've got to stop thinking about that. It's like Irie-sensei said; it's over now. And yet – I can't seem to get it out of my mind. That scene – her scream of pain as I struck her – the colour of her blood. I only have to close my eyes and it all comes right back, an overpowering suffusion that fills my whole world all at once. And when I open my eyes, the room keeps spinning in crazy circles around me, and I have to close them again or I think I'm going to be sick. Damn it, I just can't seem to escape!<p>

I lay back down on the bed for a long while; I don't know whether I slept. At any rate, when I finally yawned and lifted myself up, I was feeling a little stronger, strong enough to stand, at least. But not easily. After a couple of hesitant steps, I just sat down again. At least the room wasn't spinning so much any more, just tilting slightly. I wasn't feeling quite so nauseous, either, and I felt I could _just_ about try getting some food inside me. Irie-sensei had said I could have breakfast whenever I was ready, and at the time I'd violently rejected the idea. But now – I think I needed it.

The only thing was, I didn't know who else would be around, and I didn't know if I was ready to face anyone just yet. Would the nurses be hovering around the edges of the room, pointing and whispering, "There's that girl who almost killed her mother..." "I know, shocking, isn't it?" – or would they just smile and silently pity? I didn't want their pity. But then, I deserved nothing better. I'd done a terrible thing. I wished I could close my eyes and then wake up and find out that I'd dreamed all of this, but I knew it was no good. It was far too real to be a dream: I remembered exactly how the handle of the knife had felt, sitting snugly in my hand; I remembered the feeling of power and exhilaration as I raised it and prepared to strike. And yet, even though I _knew_ this had happened, I couldn't understand it at all. How could I _ever_ have felt that way, even for a moment? Oh, sure, I've been angry with her – there have been times when I've felt I've hated her – times when it seems like she's only out for herself, like she regards me as a nuisance getting in her way all the time – but I could never, _ever_ want to kill her. She is my support when I need someone to hold me in place and stop me falling; I can't bear to think about what it would be like if I lost her. I just can't think about it...

I sat on the bed for a while and held my head in my hands, trying to work things out. First, I just had to accept that I really had done this. That wasn't going to change, no matter how much I protested to myself that it wasn't at all like me. And then – well, I just didn't know. It's not exactly the kind of thing you can get past by giving someone a hug and saying you love them. No, I would have to – I didn't know _what_ I could do to put things right. I wasn't going to give up, though. I guess I must have a naturally optimistic temperament, because even in a situation like this there was still some part of me that was saying, it's not hopeless, there will be _some_ way out.

And so, at last, I lifted myself up and showered and got dressed. There was a suitcase of my clothes in the room – my parents had packed it for me when the doctor had arranged for me to come to Hinamizawa, so I guess they weren't throwing me out on the streets just yet. I selected one of my less tattered pairs of jeans, and a black T-shirt with red flowers. It was as I was pushing the other clothes aside to get it out that a little envelope fell out from the folds of one of the towels.

I tore it open and read the letter inside.

* * *

><p><em>Dearest Miaka,<em>

_I'm not sure when you will read this; I've been told that it may not be for a few days. I wish so badly that I could come to Hinamizawa so that I could be there for you when you wake up – but I'm afraid I will have to stay here in the hospital in Kyoto for a little while longer. Don't worry about me, though, I'm doing fine. Please let us know that you've woken up, and your father and I will be there to see you as soon as we can manage._

_Irie-sensei has told us that he wants you to remain in Hinamizawa for some time, so I've packed a few books and things for you. We will visit you every weekend to make sure that you're doing all right. Let us know if there's anything else you'd like to have while you're there, and we will bring it. I hope you will enjoy your time in Hinamizawa – just think of it as a free holiday! I know it will be difficult and you might feel lonely, but it's also a chance for you to make some new friends. We will miss you, but the most important thing is that we know you're having a good time._

There followed a long series of scratches and crossings-out, and then:

_I'm not really sure how to put this – but Miaka, I'm __really__ sorry we didn't tell you before now. About you being adopted, I mean. We should have told you the truth; we just never managed to find the right time. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us, and please don't think we love you any the less. You are our precious and beautiful daughter, and we couldn't possibly be any more proud of you._

_Your loving mother,  
>Teramachi Mikoto<em>

* * *

><p>It was a long time before I had finished wiping away my tears. I couldn't believe it; she wrote as though nothing had happened! As though she wanted to forget it all – no, as though she wanted <em>me<em> to forget it all, to take all the burden of that horrible memory upon herself. And I don't think I've ever known a greater proof of how deeply she loved me. In that moment, I made a promise to myself that I would find some way to repay her_. If there's ever something I can do that will prove how much I still love you, just let me know; I'll do it at once, no matter what it takes._

And, after all, I really don't care about knowing that I was adopted. It makes no difference at all. To be honest, I really should have guessed it for myself. My mother has silky black hair and amber eyes; my father has brown hair and brown eyes. I'm the only one in the family with red hair and blue eyes. But I'd come to accept that as just being one of those things that happens by chance sometimes – a kind of lucky charm, if you like. And now that I know the truth, I still feel like that, in a way. It's a sign that my parents _chose_ to bring me up and take care of me, and I know not everyone can say that.

After making that promise, I opened my eyes again, and rooted around in the suitcase to see what books she'd packed. Ah – there was my copy of _The Lord of the Rings_, tattered and faded by many re-readings, but it had a feel and even a smell to it that meant no other copy was quite the same. That would most likely be all I would need, since I wasn't planning on spending all my time cooped up in the clinic, but I still looked to see what else was there. A few volumes of _Detective Conan_, including some I hadn't read before. I think Mother must have bought those specially, because I'm sure I've read all the volumes we have in the house. Well, that was thoughtful. A couple of novels of the sort Mother reads – not really my thing, I don't have enough patience to keep track of so many complicated relationships. Finally, inevitably, there were some of my school textbooks. Irie-sensei had arranged for me to transfer to the village school while I was here; I can't pretend I was looking forward to it, but it would be a way to meet people and make my stay a little less boring.

I sighed, arranged the textbooks in a neat pile again, and went off to breakfast.

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling?" Irie asked me.<p>

"A little better, thanks," I said. And it was true. Perhaps it was just the effect of having some food inside me, or perhaps it was having absorbed what was in my mother's letter, but I really did feel better about myself and about the world already. Okay, I certainly didn't feel _good_ about what I'd done, but I was at least ready to _try_ to put it behind me and start a new day.

"I'm very glad to hear it," he said. "So – have you decided how you're going to spend today?"

"I... hadn't really thought about it."

He looked at me thoughtfully. "Do you feel well enough to get outside?"

"Oh, certainly," I said at once. Ask me how I want to spend my time, and I would always _much_ rather be outdoors if I can; the fresh air of a warm summer's day is nourishment to my spirit.

"So, how about a tour of the village?"

"Sure, that would be great!"

He smiled. "Well, I have a friend who would be happy to show you around. Would you like to meet him?"

I agreed, and Irie went away to call his friend, while I finished eating. About a quarter of an hour later, I had gotten myself presentable and was waiting in the lobby, when the door opened and a man came in. Irie greeted him and introduced him as my guide, Tomitake Jirou. He was close in age and height to the doctor, but a little bit stouter, and he had a camera swinging by his side, attached to a strap around his shoulder. His hair and eyes were brown, and he wore square-framed glasses.

I bowed to him and then said goodbye to Irie, and we set off. The sun was shining brightly, and almost as soon as we were outside, I could feel it warming me right through to my soul. It was the kind of lazy day when you can't think too deeply about things, you can only take them as they come. I'm not saying I had forgotten everything that had happened, but I certainly wasn't going to let it get me down on a day like this.

Tomitake proved to be an excellent guide. He did not actually live in Hinamizawa, but the village was his favourite haunt for photography, and he knew it inside-out. It was clear that Irie had told him why I was staying in the village, for he took care to point out all the places I would need to know – the school, the shrine, the shops and eating-places, and the bus stop where one could catch a bus to the neighbouring town, Okinomiya.

"So, what do you think?" Tomitake asked me after a while.

"It's lovely," I said. And it was. The village was beautiful, with a charming old-fashioned style of housing that was quite unlike any other village I had seen. The air was full of the scents of summer flowers rising from people's gardens, and the cicadas chirped away merrily, giving the place a kind of melody that made me feel my steps were almost dancing along.

We stopped to buy food at one of those tiny shops you only really find in villages. The owner was a cheerful old woman who greeted us both with a welcoming smile and asked if I was Tomitake's daughter. He laughed, and explained my situation in far more detail than I felt comfortable sharing with a stranger – but almost at once, I realised I didn't mind letting her know. Not just because in a place like this, everyone finds out everything soon enough anyway; but also because I somehow knew she was safe, and would accept me and not try to judge me.

_That's more than I deserve..._

I shook my head and blinked, and when I opened my eyes, the voice had gone away again.

"So, I hear you're keen on walking and climbing," Tomitake said to me after we had left the shop.

"You bet!"

"Well then, what do you say we make this lunch into a picnic and go up to the old dam site? It's a bit of a trek, but you get a splendid view."

"Sure, let's do that."

* * *

><p>But there was one other call Tomitake wanted to make first. We had gone in a circle round the village, and the path towards the road up to the dam site would take us back past the shrine. This time, instead of going past, we turned in under the gate – a gorgeous stone gate, so streaked by the caresses of time that it looked like it must have stood there since before the village was built – and up the steps. These steps were flanked by a wall of little stones, and as soon as you crossed and reached the top, you were deep under the shadow of the trees that closed the area in on all sides except for a small opening where the gate was. This made the building, set deep back on a stone level under the trees, seem dark and imposing; but the row of lanterns that hung from the top of its wooden frame were friendly lights that invited you in and promised you shelter from the shadows outside. A wooden gate stood at the front, and the actual entrance was some way behind this – a simple gate with wooden doors flanking it on either side, blocking out so much light that the gate was almost a black abyss into which you could stare for ever and try to fool yourself that you were making out the shapes of things or creatures in a spaceless void somewhere inside. And if I had to try to guess what that symbolised, I would say that it meant that by crossing the threshold, you were making a leap of faith and giving yourself into the hands of the gods, as you could only do if you knew that your soul was pure. I... well, I don't really know if mine was, but Tomitake was going inside, so I had to go with him.<p>

The main room, you saw as soon as you were inside, was not really as dark as it had seemed from the outside. There was a fire blazing in a deep cavity under the altar, filling the room with a thick smell of incense; its light was just enough that you could make out, through a dim haze, images on the walls, gold dragons and red demons that seemed to be shimmering, almost breathing, as though your very presence was bringing them to life, waking them up so they could talk to you about their history and their dreams. A woman was kneeling in front of the altar, and she looked round as we entered. She grunted and started to lift herself up; Tomitake hurried over to support her. She took his hand, and managed to get herself standing, then bowed to tell him he could let go. It wasn't hard to see why she needed his help; she had a heavy bulge that meant, I would guess, she was only about a month away from the birth. Nevertheless, there was something about her that gave her an air of elegance in spite of her awkwardness; perhaps it was the way she smiled as though nothing was too much trouble for her. She was tall, and had straight blue hair that floated down to the small of her back, and was dressed in a turquoise priestly robe.

"Thank you, Tomitake-san," she said. "I am happy to see you again. It's been a long time. Who is your friend?"

"Good to see you too," said Tomitake. "This is Teramachi Miaka, a patient who's staying with Irie-sensei at the clinic. Miaka-san, this is our village priestess, Furude Rika-sama."

"Pleased to meet you," I said, making a polite bow.

"I am also pleased. I've been waiting to meet you."

"I... huh?"

"I thought you would find your way here," she said with a smile. "You see, I'd heard that a little cat was astray somewhere in the village, so I hung out a lantern to let her know where to come. I think that someone who cares about her will be glad to know she is being looked after, don't you?"

I managed a faint smile. "Yeah. I'm sure," I said. "And thank you. That's really kind. You know... this village certainly seems like a very friendly place, so far."

"It is. This is something you cannot truly understand unless you have fought with us and suffered together as we have. The Hinamizawa Syndrome causes paranoia that makes you distrust and turn on your closest friends. Before we could fight against it, we had to learn to trust in our bonds of friendship no matter what, and in the end we found that our struggle had made our bonds stronger."

"Then Irie-sensei told you..."

"Yes, I know what you are suffering, Miaka-san. Your struggles are part of the same battle we fought twenty years ago, our constant battle against fate. Do you know the story of Pandora's box?"

"Yes."

"The Hinamizawa Syndrome is like the contents of that box. If it gets loose, this world will sink again into despair and tragedy. After all we have been through, I do not want that to happen. I am too old and tired to fight again... and besides, I feel I have earned some rest." She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. Her face was calm and serene, almost like a statue of some ancient deity. "We are depending on your courage, Miaka-san. Whatever happens, you must not open the box."

"I'll do my best to be strong, Furude-sama. I promise."

"You can call me Rika. And thank you. I believe in your courage." She bowed.

"I... thank you, Rika-san," I said. Damn it, I mustn't start crying now!

"It's not a trouble," she said with a slight shake of her head. "You have Irie-sensei's phone number, don't you?"

"Yes."

"The most important thing is not to cut yourself off from the people who are holding out their hands to you. Can you give me some paper, Tomitake-san?"

"Sure." He took a notebook out of his pocket and tore off one sheet.

"Let's see, then." She started to write. "I'll give you my number, and this is my friend Satoko's, and this is the Sonozakis'. We will be your support group. If you ever find yourself needing a person to talk to, we will all be here for you."

"Thank you," I said, bowing again. "I... that's really good of you."

"It's not a trouble," she said again. "You'll get to meet the others soon enough. Do you know how long you will be staying in Hinamizawa?"

"Irie-sensei wants me to stay here for a month."

Her eyes seemed to light up at that. "That's very good. You will be here for the Watanagashi festival in two weeks' time, then. It is our village's largest annual festival, and we are very proud of it."

"Really? That sounds lovely. I'll look forward to it."

"And I will look forward to seeing you there."

We smiled again and exchanged words of parting, and then it was time for Tomitake and I to be on our way, as the morning was wearing on and it would soon be time for us to have our lunch.

* * *

><p>And so we left the shrine precinct and began the trek up the hills. The country around Hinamizawa was steep and thickly wooded, just the sort of place I loved to explore, and already I began thinking up plans for one day coming here on holiday and bringing some of my friends after my cure was complete. There would be so much more I'd be able to do – for Irie had impressed on me that I should not wander off too far by myself at any time. So I was very glad for now to have a guide, as the road up to the dam site was a long one, and I guessed that this would come under the heading of "too far". I tired out sooner than I expected – perhaps a result of having spent the last week or so in a coma – but at last we emerged from the woods, and the path continued up to a little plateau; I could see the remains of some long-abandoned construction work, and I guessed that this must be our destination.<p>

It was. We stopped and spread out our picnic, and it seemed we both had a good appetite. We chatted a little; Tomitake asked me a few meaningless questions about school and my parents' jobs, but mostly I let him do the talking. I kept him going with questions about his photography, and, like many people with a keen hobby, once he got started on that subject he could prattle away for hours. That suited me just fine – I can't pretend I was listening with equal enthusiasm, but I hadn't known him long enough to be comfortable making myself the main subject of conversation. He told me all about the many places he visited in quest of rare birds and exotic landscapes, but always emphasised that he had never found anywhere quite like Hinamizawa.

"It really is beautiful," I said – for the plateau we were on gave us a wide view over the whole village, which I now saw was in a narrow valley below us. The houses, being built of natural materials, blended harmoniously with the colours of the fields and forests, and there were almost no signs of the modern tendency to reduce everything to bands and patches of grey. "And so peaceful," I added. I could see a few people moving about – at this distance, little more than dots – but overall the place looked serene and unchanging.

"It is peaceful," Tomitake agreed.

"Really?" I chuckled. "No conflicts or dark secrets lurking under the surface, then?"

"Oh, we have a few, but they belong to a time long ago now."

"Then tell me about them!"

He laughed. "That would be what interests you, wouldn't it? Well, do you know why this place is called the dam site?"

"I'll take a wild guess. There's a dam here?"

"There was going to be. They even got as far as starting the construction – well, you can see it just there. It would have diverted the river and flooded the whole village."

"I bet the villagers weren't best pleased about that."

"You can say that again. There's a reason that period is referred to as the Dam War."

"An actual _war_?"

"Eh, no, not really," he said, making a dismissive hand gesture and smiling. "But it was a time of intense conflict and hot tempers. There was even a murder – the manager supervising the construction work was killed – and it did look as though a real war might break out at any moment. Fortunately, the villagers managed to get through a petition for the dam project to be cancelled."

"I'm so glad," I said with a deep sigh. "Such a beautiful village – it would be a real shame to see it ruined."

"Yes, although you wouldn't be here to see it at all if the dam project had gone through," said Tomitake. "The Irie Clinic wouldn't exist, and we probably wouldn't have a cure for Hinamizawa Syndrome. And that almost led to another conflict, because there was a government faction who were trying to use the Syndrome as a political weapon against an opposing faction. Fortunately, that all came to nothing in the end, as well."

"Wow," I said. "The village certainly has a more interesting history than I'd expected."

Tomitake nodded. "Yes, but it's all in the past now, thank goodness," he said. "Since then, we've had twenty years of peace."

"Thank goodness," I said. "I hope it lasts for a very long time."

"Yes, that would be nice," he said. And he lay back and rested with his back against a boulder, and for a while we just sat in silence and watched the sunlight shimmering over the village and the trees whispering in the wind. It really was a perfect day.


	3. Part I Ch 2 Nakama

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**2  
>Nakama<strong>

My parents arrived at the clinic that evening, and we went into Okinomiya to have dinner together. I won't go into everything that was said between us; that would just take up time, when I'm sure you want me to get on with the story. All you need to know is that by the end of it, we had come to an understanding and agreed to put the past behind us. They spoke to Irie-sensei for a long while, and the school's principal stopped by the clinic to talk to them and finalise arrangements, and the last thing they told me before they returned to Kyoto was that they could see I was going to be very well looked after. I smiled and promised to phone or at least text every day.

And so I was in good spirits the next morning as I had my breakfast, waved goodbye to Irie and set off to walk the short distance to school. Kaieda School had no uniform policy, but I wanted to appear smart, so I was dressed in the uniform of my school in Kyoto – black shoes, white socks, and a short-sleeved slate blue dress with a white sailor collar and a white bow on the front. I've never been one for wearing a lot of jewellery and I don't have pierced ears, so I just put on a simple bracelet – a silver ring with several small mirrors attached, which my mother gave me many years ago.

The building was much smaller than my school back home – not only that, but it belonged to the Forestry Commission and the school was only part of it. There was just one classroom, and about twenty children of mixed ages. Even though I had made sure to leave plenty of time, I was almost the last one there. The teacher, Sonozaki-sensei, looked up as I entered, and for a moment, she just stood there frozen – I'm not sure whether she'd forgotten she was having a new student, or whether she was caught by surprise on seeing me in the face. As for me, I was also a little surprised; I'd had no fixed image of the sort of person she was going to be, and certainly didn't expect to see such a young and beautiful woman. She had straight green hair that floated in a river over her shoulders and right down her back, and cat-like green eyes to match. She was looking down at me hesitantly, her expression demure, almost mournful; but then after a moment she smiled, and I felt such warmth coming from that smile that I felt at once that this was somewhere I could belong.

We bowed to each other, and then she turned to face the class. "Everyone, we have a new student today," she said. "This is Teramachi Miaka, who's transferring here just for one month, and so I want you all to do your best to make her feel at home."

The class actually cheered for me, which was a lot more than I'd expected. Still, in a place like this, getting a new student, even on a temporary basis, must be a rare and interesting event.

I smiled back at them. There were a lot of very young children, and a few not quite so young, but the only ones who looked close to my age were two boys sitting together in the centre of the room. There happened to be an empty desk adjacent to theirs.

"Why don't you sit there, next to Akito?" said Sonozaki-sensei. "The first lesson's maths, and I'm sure he could do with some help."

I could _just_ hear some of the other children chuckling furtively at this.

"Okay!" I nodded and sat down, and started getting my books out.

"Now, I'll just go over our class rules," said Sonozaki-sensei. "I expect all work to be neat and tidy and handed in on time – because I may be sweet and caring, but my identical twin sister is a real demon, so you'd better watch out, because on the day you forget to bring in your homework, it just might be my twin taking the class."

I couldn't help snorting with laughter, and then noticed that the two boys were giving me a very odd look.

"What?" I said. "Come on, she doesn't really expect me to fall for that one, does she?"

The one further from me adjusted his glasses as he faced me. He had untidy, short reddish-brown hair, and wore a burgundy sweater that I felt sure he must be nearly roasting in. "Actually, Teramachi-san, she really _does_ have an identical twin sister," he said.

"Oh," I said. The other boy was now smirking at my embarrassment. He had sandy hair and red eyes, and wore a smart white shirt and black tie.

"And is she really such a demon?" I asked quickly, hoping to move the conversation on past my little mistake.

"Aunt Mion? Nah, she's harmless," said the sandy-haired boy. "Well – maybe not _harmless_, but she wouldn't hurt you just for forgetting your homework."

"_Aunt_ Mion?" I repeated. "You must be sensei's son, then?"

"That's right. I'm Sonozaki Akito. This is my friend, Ryuuguu Naoya-kun."

"Nice to meet you," I said, bowing to both of them. "Please call me Miaka." I paused. "Um... are you _really_ sensei's son? Because she doesn't look older than twenty-five..."

"Indeed she doesn't," said Naoya, leaning back in his seat. "She's actually thirty-six, though, I believe."

I made an expression of surprise, and then glanced over my shoulder to check that she hadn't been anywhere near us. She was over in the corner of the room, bending over a desk as she helped two younger boys with a problem, but all the same, I thought it prudent to just get on with the work.

When lunchtime came, everyone got busy pushing the desks together to form larger tables. Akito and Naoya made a table in the centre of the room, and at once a girl jumped across the room and sat down opposite us. She was, I would guess, around eleven or twelve, with wavy golden hair and brown eyes, and wore a frilly pink dress that made her look as cute as a doll.

"Heya!" she said. "Getting all cosy together, are we?"

"Hi," Akito said wearily. "Miaka, this is my cousin Fujiura Saki-chan..."

"Oh? Would that be Aunt Mion's daughter?"

"Huh? No, she's the daughter of Aunt Satoko, my father's younger sister."

Saki somehow managed to make her grin even broader. "My mother's Hinamizawa's number one trapmaster, and _don't you forget it_."

"As if I ever could."

We had by this point been joined by two more girls, and quite a pair they were. They were both around eight years old, and matched in height almost exactly. But one had green hair, which she wore fastened with a hairpin with a garnet on each end. She was wearing a sky-blue and white dress, with a darker blue skirt. Her brown eyes were wide and excited, and she smiled so brightly, she could have stepped out of a chocolate advertisement. The other girl had long straight indigo hair, and was staring off into the distance with a rather bemused look in her eyes; she wore a white blouse with lilac frills, and a red skirt.

Akito completed the introductions. "...And this is my sister Kotone, and Furude Kizuna."

"I can tell who _your_ mother must be," I said.

Kizuna turned towards me and grinned broadly, then made an elegant little bow. "I am pleased to meet you, looking forward to getting to know you, and if you ever need me to save your life for you, just let me know!"

I couldn't help laughing. "Is that how you greet all new acquaintances?"

"Nuh-uh," she said. "You're special."

"Oh." I wasn't really sure how to respond to this. "Well, thanks."

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Saki was looking me over intently, almost as though she were appraising me. I turned a curious eye towards her, but she just grinned.

"I hope you're going to join us for games after school, _senpai_," she said. "It will be a lot more _interesting_ with some new blood in the group."

As she said this, I suddenly noticed that _all_ of them were gazing at me; I felt for a moment like they were vampires looking forward to their next meal. But I blinked, and the feeling passed.

"Sure, I'd be happy to join in," I said. "What sort of games?"

"Oh, you'll see," Akito said, and then started to chuckle. And much as I tried throughout the remainder of the meal, not another word could I get out of him on the subject.

* * *

><p>After school, the other children all went home, and only the six of us were left. Sonozaki-sensei came over to hand Akito a bunch of keys, and then shot me a grin. "You're in for a treat," she said. "Akito, don't be too violent with the newcomer, will you? She's only here for a short while, and I want her to have some good memories when she leaves."<p>

"Me, _violent_?" he laughed. "Naoya's the one you should watch out for. You know what they always say – beware the quiet ones!"

"Hey, I'm not all _that_ quiet..."

"Right!" Akito said, thumping the table, as Sonozaki-sensei turned and walked away. "Gather round, everyone!" (We were already gathered round, so we did not move.) "I call this meeting of the games club to order."

"What are we playing, big brother?" said Kotone, beaming up at him.

"Now that there's six of us, we can play 'Capture the flag'! You ever played, Miaka-san?"

I flashed him a wicked grin. "Back home in Kyoto, I'm renowned and feared for my flag-capturing prowess. I was even selected for the prefectural team last summer!"

"Yes, but this isn't Kyoto. For a start, we'll have to explain our set of rules. Naoya-kun?"

Naoya shifted his glasses and frowned. For a moment, he looked so exactly like an old professor that I very nearly let out another burst of laughter.

"The two territories are the inside of the school and the outside," he said. "No going beyond the outer fence. For flags, we use these two baseball bats" – Akito had unlocked a cupboard and got out two bats, a metal one and a wooden one – "and you can place them anywhere in your territory, but they must be in plain sight, not hidden. If you get forced down in enemy territory by a member of the opposing team, you have to run to the clinic and back, then you can rejoin."

He took a deep breath and unfolded a sheet of paper. "Miscellaneous rules," he read out. "No wandering around swinging the bats. No climbing on the school roof. Digging mantraps on the school field just isn't worth the effort. Use of explosive devices for any purpose whatever is absolutely prohibited." He looked up. "Everything clear?"

"Uh – yes, I think so," I said, a little nervously. _Explosive devices?_ What kind of a club had I gotten myself involved with?

"Then let's get started," said Akito, producing a pack of cards from the same cupboard. "We'll cut for first pick. Whoever cuts the higher card gets to pick Saki – I mean, gets to pick first." He shuffled and cut, drawing the jack of hearts. "Hah!" he said. "See if you can beat that!"

Naoya remained calm as he silently divided the pack, paused, and then, instead of reversing the upper half as normal, he flipped the top card of the lower half. It was the ace of spades.

"Looks like I get to pick Saki," he said.

"Very well, very well," said Akito. "I'll pick Kotone. Sorry, Miaka-san, but us Sonozakis have to stick together." Kotone beamed up at him and slipped her hand into his.

"Right!" said Saki, fixing Kotone with a narrow stare. "That means we cut for second pick. I'll let you cut first because I feel like going easy on you. Mwahahahaha!"

Kotone cut in a most unconventional manner, turning the whole pack upside-down and sorting through it until she picked out an eight. "It's my favourite number," she explained.

"You can't do that!" I said.

"Why not? There's no rule about it."

"She's quite right there," Saki said as she shuffled the cards with savage ferocity. "Aha!" she cried, drawing out the nine of diamonds. She swivelled her head with a flourish, looking from me to Kizuna and back again with a calculating flick of her eyebrows. "I pick Miaka," she said at last. "She needs a strong leader so she can be properly put through her paces."

"That means you're on my team," Kotone said to Kizuna. "Yay!"

"Yay!" Kizuna shouted back, high-fiving her. She turned to me and grinned. "Us two should now cut for who gets to pick territory, but you're new, so I'll let you pick."

"Thank you," I said, bowing. "All right, then, I'll pick outside."

"Good choice, _senpai_," Saki said, thumping me on the back, a little too energetically.

Akito and Naoya bowed to each other, and took one bat each – our team got the metal one. "You have five minutes to place it, then the game begins," said Akito. "At least, you have five minutes after I've got rid of this stupid thing." He took his tie off, while Naoya removed his inappropriately warm sweater. "All right – time starts _now_!"

* * *

><p>We hurried outside. Even though Naoya was our team captain, it was Saki who took charge at once, taking the bat from him and striding forward, twirling it in her hand as she scanned the trees around the perimeter, looking for a good place to leave it.<p>

"How about round the back of the building?" I said. "They may not think to look there."

"Nah, too obvious," said Saki. "They'd think we wouldn't expect them to look round the back first, so that's exactly where they _would_ look first. We should put it _here_, right at the front. That way, they can't reach it without crossing the field in open view." She stopped under a large tree, and gazed up at it. "Pity we're not allowed to put it too high up for the younger girls to reach."

Naoya glanced at his watch. "We've got three minutes."

"Right!" said Saki. "Naoya-kun, you get behind that oak over there and keep watch. Make sure you can't be seen from the front of the building. Miaka, you're coming with me. It's time for your first training mission." She took my hand, and grinned at me wickedly. "First things first, teammate: we need a code. If I shout for help, I'll call you _chan_ if I really want you to help, and _san_ if I'm pretending. You do the same. Got that?"

"I got it." I smiled. I love this game, but it's so much more enjoyable if you have a good team, and someone who has that level of forethought is someone I'm happy to be working with.

"Excellent!" She burst into a delirious cackle, and then started to drag me around the east side of the building. When we drew close, she abruptly stopped and stood, completely silent, and listened.

"Okay, they're not at this end," she said. "Still one minute before we can start operations. When I say go, I want you to sneak under the window, go round to the staffroom door, and see if you can get in. The door will be unlocked, but you mustn't open it if anyone's inside. Got that?"

"Got it. Where will you be?"

"Round the other side, of course, so they don't get us both. When you're ready, text me a one if you get inside, two if you can't, three if you're caught and need a rescue. Now _go_!"

I was off at once; this game was second nature to me and I didn't need any preparation, just orders. I flattened myself into the grass and slithered under the window, so silently that I could hear Saki running off in the other direction, and she was pretty good at being stealthy as well. There was still no sound from inside. I eased myself forward as rapidly as I could manage.

Behind the building was a tennis court, so I waited at the corner for a while, knowing that once I moved again I would have no further concealment between here and the door. The door was a large glass one, so I crouched low and watched through it for a while. I couldn't see any movement and I was just about to start creeping towards the door, when I suddenly saw a door open at the back of the room. Kizuna came through it – even at that distance, there was no mistaking her indigo hair. Keeping low, she came up to the glass door and looked around; I hid myself back around the corner again. A minute or so later, when I looked again, she had gone, so I scuttled along to the door and opened it.

I frowned. It all seemed a bit too easy so far, and I wondered if this was a trap. There was no other door on this side of the building, but perhaps I could surprise them by sneaking in through a window instead? I tested the window of the adjacent room, but it wouldn't open. Oh well – I was sure there was no-one inside the staffroom now, so I texted a one to Saki and slipped inside.

Still no sound. I flattened myself against the wall, kept the opposite door in sight, and crept slowly around the edge of the room. Still no sound. I knelt close to the door and eased the handle down. I waited for a while to see if this would provoke a response, but nothing happened. I slowly pushed the door open.

There was _still_ no sound, and I was beginning to feel that something had to be wrong – but what? All at once, I thought I knew. I was prepared for this. I reached out towards the door handle as though trying to edge it further open, but in fact I was tilting my wrist so as to get a look at the corner behind me as it reflected in one of the facets of my bracelet. Ah, yes. Kizuna was crouching behind the sofa, holding – was that the end of a rope? And – hang on, how exactly did _she_ get there when I knew she had disappeared through the door in front of me? Well, at least I had the advantage in that she didn't yet know I had seen her. I pretended to be intent on what was happening on the other side of the door, while my left hand slipped into my pocket and texted a three to Saki.

Almost at once, there was a cry like someone stumbling, and a heavy thud as if some object had fallen over. The sounds were coming from somewhere further inside the building. Then I heard Saki scream, "Help, Miaka-san! Help me!" I smiled secretly; I knew from our code that she was acting, but it really was very convincing. I dived towards the door – and then swung aside just before I reached it.

Kizuna fell for it all too easily. She tugged the rope, which rose off the floor and went taut. If I really had been running through the door, it would have tripped me – and almost at once, I saw a net fluttering down, just over the place where I would have landed.

I swivelled fiercely towards Kizuna. She flinched back, and began to edge around the sofa, keeping it in between us. I moved around the edge of the room towards the outside door, curious to see which exit she would try to block. If she was confident her team would overcome Saki, she would probably block my exit to the outside, so that they got me as well; but if not, she would have to block my way into the building so I couldn't grab their bat.

Saki, it seemed, had the same idea. She cried out, "No, get off me! Help, Miaka-san! _Get back, you –_" and this was cut off by a loud thump like someone being struck with a newspaper or something, and then a hideous cry of pain. Kizuna immediately ran and blocked the door to the outside. I ran through the other door.

"Over here, Miaka!" Saki called out. Her voice was now coming from upstairs, so I ran up and soon found her. She was in a smallish office containing a lot of school books, and she was crouching next to a connecting door, examining the gap around its edge minutely.

"Kotone's barricaded herself in here," she whispered. "So it stands to reason the bat must be in there with her. Question is, how are we going to get in, or get her to come out?"

"Fire alarm?" I whispered back.

"I like the way you think. But Akito wouldn't forgive us if we gave his little sister a real fright. He's very protective of her. No, we've got to think of something else."

"So, Akito has a strong social conscience?" I mused. "I wonder if Kotone does as well..."

"I should say she does!"

I grinned. "Then this might just work."

I ran back and grabbed the rope Kizuna had tried to trip me with; there was no sign of her. Perhaps she had now gone after our bat? Well, there'd been no alarm from Naoya yet, so I had to assume he was coping, or else that Kizuna had fallen for our ploy and was uselessly looking around the back of the school. I looped one end of the rope around the door-handle, and tied the other to a heavy trigonometry textbook. Then I dragged the book along a high shelf until the rope became taut – and pushed it off.

The door shuddered in its frame, and Saki and I cheered. "Once more should do it!"

Almost at once, we heard a scraping sound as the barricade was shifted aside, and the door opened – but it was not Kotone who stood before us. It was Kizuna again.

"What on earth are you doing?" she cried, placing her hands firmly on her hips. "Sonozaki-sensei will have your fingernails for it if you damage the door!"

"How did you get there?" I said. "And where's Kotone?"

"They changed places through the window," Saki said in a tone of grudging admiration.

She had shoved past Kizuna and was holding the door open as she scanned the room for the baseball bat, but just then, I looked out of the office window and saw Akito running towards the building, with Naoya in hot pursuit. Had he got our bat? He didn't seem to be holding anything. Maybe Naoya was just trying to tag him. But that meant our bat was unguarded, and Kotone had disappeared! I tapped Saki's shoulder to get her attention, and pointed through the window. She got the point immediately, and we both charged madly down the stairs and outside. I'm a pretty good runner, and by the time I reached the tree I was more than a hundred metres ahead of her. The bat was still where we had left it – and there was no sign of Kotone.

"So that's where you put it!" Kizuna said quietly from behind me.

"Why, you!" Saki lunged towards her, but she was out of breath, and Kizuna easily dodged. At that moment, Akito and Naoya charged into view again, having run all the way around the building. Naoya was beginning to tire a little, and was falling further behind.

"Get him, Saki-chan!" he panted.

Saki turned, and stood with arms outstretched to head Akito off; he changed direction and ran towards the school gate, and both Naoya and Saki ran after him. I looked round towards Kizuna, who was standing some way off with her hands behind her back, grinning.

I glowered at her. "Where's Kotone?" I said again.

She smirked. "Heh heh. You haven't worked it out yet..."

There was a rustling in the bushes behind me, and I swung round. So _there_ she was! But she was keeping herself well hidden. That green hair of hers made for good camouflage, and I wouldn't really have been sure she was there at all, if it weren't for a slight movement in the leaves that didn't agree with the direction of the wind.

I growled. I wanted to rush towards her and root around until I found her, but I couldn't. Kizuna would get the bat if I tried. And speaking of Kizuna – while I'd been concentrating on Kotone, she was edging around the tree, getting closer to it in a gradual spiral. And if I stepped around the tree to keep myself between her and the bat, I would leave my back exposed to Kotone.

At that point, I made up my mind. There is a move we have in the 'Capture the flag' circles I've moved in called the Desperation Attack. It consists of picking up your team's flag and running with it into enemy territory, so you can see how it gets its name. If you succeed, you immediately win, and if you fail, you immediately lose. Most teams have a special forfeit reserved for the hapless player who loses with a badly timed Desperation Attack, and particularly ill-planned ones can go down in legend and will be talked about for years to come. But this was the perfect time for it: all three of their players were in our territory, I knew where their bat was, and I knew I could outrun them. And these country hicks, I felt sure, would never expect it; I grinned at the thought of how completely I was going to turn the tables on them just when they thought they had me cornered.

So I grabbed our bat from the tree and took off like a rocket, running straight for the school entrance and up the stairs. Kizuna was left far behind in my dust. I skidded through the office and into the cupboard where Kotone had barricaded herself –

Their bat was not there. My eyes swivelled around frantically, scanning every inch of the shelves; it was not there! I took a deep breath and looked again, more slowly, thinking back to a game of hide-and-seek back home when I had hidden _myself_ on a low shelf in a cupboard very much like this one, with only the framework holding up the shelves for concealment. I'd used the natural angle of the shelves to mask myself from the seekers' sight, and had remained unseen for so long that they gave up looking and assumed I had cheated and gone out of the room. They were _most_ surprised to hear my voice calling after them just as they were on their way out!

But now, no matter how hard I looked, the bat really was not there. I couldn't understand it. Had Kizuna had time to sneak it to a different hiding-place before following me out of the building? Surely not; she'd reached the tree ahead of Saki, and she hadn't even seemed out of breath.

And then, just as I was thinking all this through, the door slammed shut behind me, followed by the sound of the key turning in the lock. I swung round, breathing heavily. This was _impossible_! All three of them were outside, and they _couldn't_ have got back this soon!

"Hey, let me out!" I cried, pounding on the door. If I sounded frightened, it's because I was. I don't cope well with confined spaces. This cupboard wasn't all that small, so I'd been okay with it as long as the door was open, but being trapped inside it – I could already feel the panic coming on. But the only response from the other side of the door was a wicked cackle.

I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and forced myself to think. It wasn't over yet – not until they overpowered me and took the bat from me. Akito was the only one who was really strong enough to do that, and if they were resorting to locking me in, it had to mean that he wasn't there yet. The only other way out was the window, so I went over to it. It was locked, but the key was still in the lock. Thank goodness. That was careless of them, but I wasn't going to complain. I opened the window and lifted myself carefully onto the frame, surveying the ground below.

The window was above a concrete yard, and the jump down would have to be made carefully. But I had already taken too long; Kizuna was running back towards the building, and I didn't think I'd have time to get away from her if I jumped down. But there was still another way I could try. There was a gutter just above the window, and if I turned round and stretched up – _very_ carefully – I could just reach up, the bat still in my hand, and take hold of the gutter, and slowly inch myself along the wall to the next window...

"_Hey_!" Kizuna called out. "Don't do that! It's dangerous!"

I half-turned my head to reply to her – but that shifted my centre of gravity, and I could feel my grip on the gutter slipping. I quickly reached up and tried to grab a firmer hold, but in my panic I must have done the wrong thing – anyhow, I ended up on the concrete with a heavy thump, while the bat remained in the gutter far above.

"Are you all right?"

I struggled to lift myself up. It was Saki who had spoken; Akito and Naoya were also hurrying towards me.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," I said. "Honestly, I've had much worse falls than that."

"What on earth possessed you to climb up there?" said Akito.

I grimaced. I wasn't going to tell them I'd been frightened by being locked in a cupboard; I'd never hear the end of it. "I guess I just wasn't willing to accept that I'd been outwitted by an eight-year-old girl," I mumbled.

"_Two_ eight-year-old girls," said a sprightly voice. And when I looked round, there was a second Kizuna standing next to the first, with exactly the same clothes and the same indigo hair.

"Oh _no_," I groaned. "Not _more_ identical twins? I can't take any more of this."

Saki laughed long and hard. "Kizuna and Shizuna, the terrible twins," she said. "Can you really not tell them apart?" She went from one of them to the other, looking them all over, and then settled on the one who had just appeared, and tugged on her hair. It came off in her hand, revealing Kotone's green hair underneath.

Everyone laughed at that, and I really had to laugh with them. "You got me," I said. "I was completely taken in. But how _should_ I have told them apart?"

Saki took a gentle hold of Kotone's head, tilting it up and back a little, and I now saw that she had a thin, dark scar running across her neck from the front around the right-hand side.

"But where are the bats?" said Naoya.

"Ours is in the boys' toilet," said Akito. "I had the girls barricade the stock cupboard as a distraction. Where's yours?"

"Good question... oh." I looked up, indicating with a nod where it lay in the gutter.

"Damn!" said Akito. "That one was my father's old bat. He'll be furious!"

"I'll get it back..."

He frowned sternly at me. "No. No, you will not."

"Eh? Why's that?"

"I told you – no climbing on the school roof."

I snorted. "I didn't have you down for the rule-abiding type."

"Well, I am sensei's son, so I do have certain duties to uphold." He folded his arms and looked away, but I could tell he wasn't really angry.

So I smiled. "Very well, we'll just leave it there and your father will be furious."

"Well, as club leader, it's my responsibility to accept that," he said. "But you'll have to take all of your team's forfeits as penance."

"F... forfeits?"

Saki grinned. "Club rules, _senpai_. Each member of the losing team has to accept a forfeit from the corresponding member of the winning team."

I sighed. There was nothing else I could do but accept it; it _had_ been my fault, after all. "Very well, I accept."

"Yay!" Kizuna – the real one – cried. She dashed into the building, and emerged a minute later with a black-and-white frilly maid's dress. "My forfeit is, you have to wear this until you get home."

"Uh... fine, I guess," I said, taking the dress from her. That wasn't really a big deal; the clinic was only ten minutes away, and if I was lucky, I wouldn't meet anyone.

Akito and Kotone shot each other a knowing glance. "My forfeit," said Akito, "is – you must come by our house for tea and biscuits. _Before_ you go back to the clinic."

"And you must carry me piggyback!" said Kotone.

"W... what?" I mumbled, blushing bright red. "I can't do this!" Although I could see I wasn't going to escape. They were all standing round me in a ring, looking (again) a little like vampires looking forward to a good meal. "I can't! It's my first day in a new school, and you're asking me to turn up at my teacher's house wearing _this_?"

"Sensei won't mind," said Naoya. "In fact, if you ask nicely, she'll be happy to show you some photos from when she was one of the original club members. You should see some of the things they got Saki's mother to wear."

Saki glowered at him. "Hey, don't you go talking about my mother like that!"

"Why – are you ashamed of your mother being such a cutie?"

Saki tried to slap him, but he laughed and dodged back.

I smiled and shook my head, and then went off to the girls' toilet to get changed into the maid costume. When I emerged, Naoya and Akito were busy tidying the classroom, which had been left in something of a mess after Saki's little subterfuge earlier on.

"You know, you should get Saki to tidy that up, considering most of it was her fault," I said.

Naoya looked up at me and chuckled. "There's only one force of Nature more destructive than Saki making a mess," he said, "and that's Saki tidying up."

"Why, you –"

I quickly held Saki back from interfering, and then helped them get the place tidy. With the three of us working together, the task was soon finished. Akito locked everything up, and then we set off towards the Sonozakis' house together. In truth, I didn't mind the forfeit. I could tell that it was all in a spirit of fun, and it felt invigorating to be around people who seemed to get so much raw enjoyment out of life. I'd only just met them, and I felt like I was part of their group already. And being part of this group, I just knew, meant that every day would feel like a holiday. I could almost wish that June would last for ever just so that I would never have to leave Hinamizawa.


	4. Part I Ch 3 Opening the Box

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**3  
>Opening the Box<strong>

Alas, time is no-one's servant. The more I wished for the days to linger, the faster they seemed to fly by, so rapidly that I now have only very confused memories of that time. All I know for sure is that until then, I'd never known two weeks that were so happy. Even my friends in Kyoto, who had known me all my life, were never as welcoming and keen to entertain as the Hinamizawans. Every day we played a different game, and every day there was a different forfeit; but they were never too malicious, and I kept that in mind when I finally got my own back on the others for making me wear that maid costume.

The games were not always at school. Sometimes we went round to the Sonozakis' house to play on Akito's PS2, and sometimes we went to Saki's to play with her collection of mechanical toys. I learned that her parents, Fujiura Takumi and Satoko, had started their own business in selling handmade toys with ingenious mechanisms, with Satoko providing the ideas and Takumi constructing the toys to her designs. Takumi had died when Saki was still a baby, and his unmarried sister Azusa had moved in to help bring Saki up and to take over his share of the business. Apparently, they had become hugely successful and were known all across Japan, though I had to admit I hadn't heard of them before.

But what toys they were! There were little birds that would flap their wings and scuttle about in a panic if you touched them in the right way; gliders that you could send off and watch as they veered in wide circles around the room; cats with hinged parts that moved together so realistically, you could have sworn they were alive. They were all made of catalpa wood, lovingly carved in intricate detail, and although Satoko was kind enough to give me one of the cats for my very own, I couldn't help being very jealous of Saki, who got one of these toys for her birthday every year!

The Sonozakis' house was no less interesting. It was a gigantic manor, and Naoya explained to me that the Sonozakis were one of the largest, wealthiest and most important families in the area. Eight of them shared the home: Akito and Kotone – Sonozaki-sensei and her husband Satoshi – then there was sensei's twin sister Mion (who really did exist!), she was unmarried – and the twins' parents, Akane and Juntarou. I didn't get to meet the eighth person, Akane's mother Oryou; that made her Akito's great-grandmother, so she must have been ancient indeed. I can't imagine what it must have been like to share a house with such a large family; I think it would have driven me mad. I've never met my own grandparents – Father is estranged from his family, and Mother's parents are dead – and I don't have a sibling, so it's always been just the three of us.

Then, in the second week of my stay, the games stopped, and club activities were taken over for a while by helping to get everything ready for the Watanagashi festival. I hadn't realised just how huge an undertaking this was until we arrived at the shrine precinct on Sunday, and found what seemed like half the village already there and very busy. The entire level in front of the shrine was filled with stands being set up, and people hustling about carrying materials and tools. Rika remained indoors, as she was in no condition to be helping, but her husband, Suguru, met us as we entered the precinct, bowed deeply and thanked us all for volunteering to help. We bowed in return and then walked into the middle of the area, and I looked around in some bewilderment. I caught sight of a few familiar faces – Satoko and Azusa were hammering together some kind of framework, and Sonozaki-sensei, easily recognisable by her long green hair, was striding around organising a group of helpers. There was no sign of her twin sister. Or perhaps this _was_ the twin? It was hard to tell. She certainly had an enthusiastic commanding attitude that wasn't at all like the demure, almost melancholy demeanour I was used to seeing at school; but perhaps it was just one of those changes that happens when a person is seen in a different situation.

Anyhow, Saki and I helped to set up the stands, while Akito and Naoya were assigned fetching and carrying duties, and Kotone and Kizuna ran round taking messages, holding the ends of things that needed to be held, and just being generally encouraging. All in all, it was fun, and if it got a bit tiring after a while, that just made the refreshment breaks all the more enjoyable.

By Saturday, the day before the festival, everything was ready, and after school we went round to the shrine one last time – to help Kizuna try on her costume for the ceremony. Normally it would be Rika who took the leading role, but this year, due to her pregnancy, Kizuna would be taking over the duties for the first time ever. At first she had seemed very excited about it, but from the moment we arrived at school on the Saturday, she looked like she was so nervous she was about to be sick. We all did our best to encourage her, and Saki took her outside and sat with her for a long time. They came back and got on with lessons without saying anything; Kizuna at least no longer looked sick, but she spent a long time absent-mindedly staring into the distance with a worried frown on her face.

When we got to the shrine, Kotone took her off into a back room, and the rest of us sat round and waited. About a quarter of an hour later, they came back out, Kizuna wearing a flowing white robe and red trousers; the robe was edged with gold embroidery in exquisite floral patterns, and red tassels drifted out from its seams. She bowed to us and twirled around a few times, and we all applauded. Then, at last, she looked up at us and, slowly, her face opened up into a glowing smile.

* * *

><p>"So, what exactly is this 'cotton drifting' festival?" I asked the others as we walked down the path together. We were going back to the Sonozaki house, as Mion had promised to make us all a special meal as a reward for the week's work.<p>

"Well, it's called that because everyone takes a ball of cotton and drifts it down the river," said Naoya. "You're meant to think about the sins you've committed in the past year, and if you sincerely repent, your sins are absorbed by the cotton and float away from you."

I gave him a slanting smile. In truth, it had been such a full two weeks that I had almost forgotten about the circumstances that led to my coming to Hinamizawa; but I could never entirely forget. I knew that I would have deeper sins to think about than any of theirs; and I could not really believe that I could get rid of them as simply as absorbing them into a ball of cotton. Still, I had to admit it was a charming thought, even encouraging in its own quaint way.

"Don't talk of such matters so lightly!" said a strange voice. I turned to see a man approaching us along a side path. He was short, with dark skin and sparse grey hair and beard, and his clothes were dishevelled. He looked very old, his face worn and creased, and his posture crumbling as though it was a constant struggle to keep lifting himself up. Naoya and Akito, as soon as they saw him, both stood in front of me as if to protect me. I'm not sure why. He was carrying a walking-stick, but even if he did try to use it as a weapon, he looked far too frail to do much harm with it.

"Leave us alone, Yanagida-san," said Akito.

The man snarled at him, showing his teeth. The few that were left were worn down into narrow spikes. "Why, are you trying to stop the new girl finding out the truth?" he said. "She must learn to repent in blood, or the curse of Oyashiro-sama will strike her!"

Naoya stepped forward. "Miaka-san is an honoured guest of the Sonozaki family," he said. "Now _leave us alone_, or we will make sure Mion-sama has you thrown out of the village."

I stared at him; I hadn't guessed he was capable of such ferocity. "Beware the quiet ones" indeed.

"I'm leaving," the man said, turning very slowly and fixing me with an icy glare as he did. I know it's silly of me, but I found myself feeling very cold, as though I had a sudden urge to hold on to someone for warmth. "But you will wish you had listened to me. The aura of death surrounds you!"

I stood staring after him for a while as he vanished down the path; then Akito tugged my arm. "Come on, Miaka-chan," he said. "Let's keep moving."

"Could Mion-san really have him thrown out of the village?" I said after a while.

"Sure," said Naoya. "Kimiyoshi Ryouta-san is the village chief, but everyone knows it's really the Sonozaki family who are in charge."

"What did he mean, though?" I said. "What is the curse of Oyashiro-sama?"

"You don't want to know about that, Miaka-san," Kizuna said firmly. The smile had vanished from her face, and she was intent and serious. "Mother says that Oyashiro-sama is a gentle god and would never curse anyone."

"Still, he must have meant something by it," I said. I glanced round at Akito and Naoya, who were now walking one on each side of me. Both of them were fidgety and apprehensive, immediately deepening my suspicion that they knew _something_ they weren't telling me.

At last, Akito sighed. "I guess we may as well tell you," he said. "You'll find out sooner or later anyway."

"Go on..."

"Well, it all happened back when our parents were around the age we are now," he said. "But it's a great mystery that's never really been cleared up."

"Wow, really?" I said. "I love unsolved mysteries! Do tell me about it!"

Naoya chuckled at my enthusiasm. "All right," he said. "Do you know about the dam that was going to be built here?"

"Yes – Tomitake-san told me about that on my first day here."

"Okay then. So, the first thing that happened was that the manager of the dam construction was murdered, on the day of the Watanagashi festival. The police think he was killed by one of the workers, but the man disappeared – and has never been seen since."

"He probably just ran away after doing the murder," I said, feeling a little disappointed.

Naoya glanced round and grinned at me. "Leaving all his money and possessions behind?"

"Hmm, that _is_ strange," I said. "So, go on. You said that was the _first_ thing."

"Well, the next year, also on the day of the festival, Satoshi and Satoko's father died in an accident. It's thought that their mother died too, but no-one knows for sure; her body was never found."

"Oh, that's horrible!" I said, looking round at Saki. She was tagging along beside us, watching the sky and swinging her arms as she strode along; her face was serene and impassive. "I'm so sorry..."

She seemed to suddenly notice she had been spoken to, and looked round and smiled at me. "It's okay," she said. "I never knew my grandparents, so I don't know what I'm missing. Though from what I've heard, it may not be at all a bad thing." She pulled a face.

"Anyway, go on with the story, Naoya-kun," said Akito. "If we have to talk about this, let's just get it over with."

Naoya nodded. "On the third year, _also_ on the day of the festival, Rika-sama's father died of a sudden illness. Her mother disappeared, leaving a suicide note saying that Oyashiro-sama had put a curse on the village because of the dam project. Satoshi and Satoko's father had supported the project, you see."

"So Rika-san and Satoko-san were both orphans," I said. I felt a lump rising in my throat as I thought again of what might have happened if my parents had died that night. Where would I be now? Well, I certainly wouldn't be walking down a village path with my friends, on a cool evening with the cicadas singing away brightly, enjoying the sight of summer flowers all around me and the woods in the distance. I think Kotone must have guessed what I was thinking about, for I suddenly felt her place her hand in mine and grip it tightly. I smiled down at her and returned the grip, as though I were on the edge of a cliff and holding on to her hand could stop me from falling.

"Yes, and Satoshi and Satoko were taken in by an uncle, who was married but had no children," Naoya went on. "And what do you think happened, a year later, _also_ on the day of the festival?"

I was beginning to get a horrible sinking feeling, like when you're about to look at a test result and you know you've done badly. "Don't tell me that he died too..."

"Well, you're close. His wife was beaten to death – the police later found a drug addict who claimed to have done it. And Satoshi-san disappeared."

"_Satoshi-san_ did?" I said. "Wait, isn't that –"

"Yes, that's my father," Akito said heavily. He was facing towards the ground and scowling. "Out of the ones who disappeared, he's the only one who ever came back. But he never speaks about what happened to him."

"What, never?"

"Literally never. I have no more idea about it than you do."

"Oh, come on!" I said. "I can't believe that. You _live_ with him, for crying out loud! You _must_ have talked about it – you must have asked –"

Akito shook his head and looked away. "He doesn't talk about it," he mumbled.

"So that's why you didn't want to talk about any of this," I said quietly.

"Yeah. I'd rather just forget about it. I _hate_ feeling like I have this shadow hanging over my life."

"But if you tried to explain to your father that you feel that way –"

"_No,_" he said firmly. Then he took a deep breath and looked back at me, grimacing sadly. "Look, I'm sorry, Miaka-chan, but I can't do that. I've tried. But I can see... it's not that he _won't_ talk about what happened; it actually hurts him to try. And I don't want to cause him that pain."

"I understand," I said gently.

"Thank you, Miaka-chan," said Kotone. I felt her grip on my hand tighten again, and I smiled.

"So, anyway," said Naoya, "have you seen the pattern in what I've told you so far?"

"I think so," I said. "Each year, one person died and one person disappeared."

"That's right. And always on the day of the Watanagashi festival."

"And how long did this go on for? It isn't still happening, is it?"

"No, it stopped after just one more year," said Naoya. He frowned, and shook his head a little. "But the last year of the curse was the strangest of all."

"Why, what happened?"

"Well, firstly, the person who disappeared was a nurse from Irie-sensei's clinic. Unlike all the other victims, she had no connection to the dam project or its supporters. There was no reason for the curse to target her!"

"Very strange," I said. "But there's more, isn't there? Who died that year?"

"Rika-sama."

I stopped abruptly, let go of Kotone's hand and swung round to face him. I was almost expecting to see him grin and admit that he was joking, but his face remained solemn.

"What the hell did you say?" I said. "Stop fooling around, Naoya-kun."

"I'm not fooling. She really did die. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth."

"Oh, and what happened then?" I said sarcastically. "I suppose she was replaced by yet another identical twin sister – or did she just miraculously come to life again on the third day?"

"Well – yes." Naoya looked almost apologetic.

"What do you mean, _yes_?"

"Yes, she miraculously came back to life. Or at least, that's the way everyone tells it."

I reached across and slapped him.

"Ouch!" he said, screwing up his face and rubbing a hand across his cheek. "What was that for?"

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself, talking such nonsense in front of Kizuna-chan? Don't you think you might be upsetting her feelings?"

"It's all right, Miaka-san," said Kizuna. She looked up at me earnestly, almost pleadingly.

I took a deep breath and tried my hardest to swallow down my anger. I was not entirely successful. "Naoya-kun," I said, "she's _eight years old!_ Don't you know how impressionable children are at that age? You may think it very funny that you've fed her all these fairy stories and gotten her to believe them, but have you got any idea how much damage this could do to her? When she's older and people don't think it's cute any more that she still believes such nonsense, they'll just think she's strange and avoid her! She'll be lonely and miserable, with no friends, and it will – _all_ – _be_ – _your_ – _fault!_"

Behind me, I could hear Saki snickering, and I whirled round and slapped her. Hard.

Akito put his hands firmly on my shoulders. "That's enough of that, Miaka-chan," he said. "What Naoya-kun said is quite true."

"But... but..."

"I'm only saying that's what people say," said Akito. "It's up to you whether to believe it or not. But it's not a matter of local legend; it happened in living memory. All the adults in the village remember it, and _nearly_ all of them would tell you the same."

"Though in fairness," Naoya put in, "Rika-sama herself has always denied that anything miraculous happened."

I looked from him to Akito and back, studying their faces. They were both sincere, that was obvious enough. And I also got a strong sense that, whatever they might say, this was an _important_ belief to them, one that they cared about getting me to accept or at least treat with respect. I felt unsettled; I didn't want to get into an argument with them about it, but I couldn't just pass it off like there was no problem either.

At last I scowled and slowly said, "All right, I'll accept that _something_ happened. But dead people cannot come back to life – I _refuse_ to believe that."

"Okay," said Naoya, "I'll tell you as much as we know and you can draw your own conclusions –"

"She should apologise to me," Saki interrupted, glowering at me.

"Yes, you should," said Akito.

"I..." I stopped. Akito was looking at me sternly, and deep down I knew he was right. "All right, I'm sorry," I said.

"Well, I guess that's good enough," said Saki. She stuck out her tongue, and then turned round and stood with her hands on her hips, facing firmly away.

Naoya began again. "So, here's what we know. Rika-sama was taken ill two days before the festival, and Irie-sensei said she should stay at home and people should keep away from her."

"Hang on," I said. "At home? Where was she living, after her parents died?"

"Good point. She and Satoko-san were living alone with each other at that time."

"And no-one objected to this?"

"Well, Rika-sama is said to be the mouthpiece of Oyashiro-sama, and you can understand, if the village god says it's good enough for him, who's going to object?" Naoya drew a deep breath. "Anyway, no-one saw her for two days, and the next that was heard was that she'd died and her body was taken to the police station for examination. This is all in the official records. I haven't looked at them myself, but I've heard it from some of the Sonozakis – and they are very close friends with the local police."

"Hah!" I said. "Sounds to me like there's a big conspiracy in which the police, the Sonozaki family and Satoko-san are _all_ involved!"

"Don't say things like that, Miaka-chan," said Kotone, tugging on my sleeve.

"Why not?"

"Well... if you say too much about conspiracies, people will think your Hinamizawa Syndrome is coming back."

I grimaced, and Naoya must have noticed, for he quickly went on, "I don't think it can be a conspiracy, Miaka-chan. It would have to be a very big conspiracy if it was. For a start, someone came in from Prefectural Police Headquarters to verify for certain that Rika-sama was dead, and I know that Sonozaki Akane-san, the twins' mother, brought in her brother Saburou as well. He's retired now, but he was a Councillor in the Prefectural Assembly. So it gets to the point where you just have to ask – why? Why would a local superstition, if that really is all it is, be worth so much that such important people would get involved in preserving it?"

"Well... I don't know," I admitted. "What do _you_ make of it all?"

Naoya looked round at the rest of the group, then back at me. His expression was thoughtful and a shade melancholy. "I think," he said slowly, "that it has to be admitted that there is a secret connecting the series of deaths – and that this secret is known to a small circle of people within Hinamizawa."

"What's your evidence?"

"Human nature, for a start. It's only natural to be curious about a series of mysteries like this, especially when it happens in your own village and _especially_ when it involves people you know. But they're not. Not only do our parents show no curiosity about the mystery, they actively try to dissuade us from finding out about it."

"Very good point," I said. "So – who do you think is in on this 'secret', whatever it is?"

He took a deep breath. "Well, Satoshi-san and Rika-sama, obviously. Both of the Sonozaki twins – Shion-sensei is married to Satoshi, and Mion-sama was the leader of the club when they were all in school together, so it's hard to see them not knowing. And then there's Satoko-san – she's Satoshi's sister, she was living with Rika, and she's always been very close to the twins, as well."

"The Sonozakis and Fujiuras are like one big happy family," Kotone said, grabbing Saki's arm and giving it a tight affectionate squeeze.

"I'm detecting a pattern here," I said. "We have Akito-kun and Kotone's parents – Saki-chan's mother – Kizuna's mother – as well as Sonozaki Mion. What about _your_ parents, Naoya-kun? Or what about Kizuna's father, for that matter?"

"He's a possibility," said Naoya. "He was friends with the others at school – you've seen him in Sonozaki-sensei's photos."

"Which one was he?" I said, thinking back to his face and trying to guess what he must have looked like as a child.

"The little kid with spiky black hair. His name before he married Rika-sama was Okamura."

"Oh yes, I remember him now." I grinned; he'd been pretty inconspicuous and stayed in the background most of the time, just as he still did now. Well, I suppose when you're married to the mouthpiece of a god, it's hard to maintain anything other than a supporting role.

"He and Tomita Daiki joined the games club after Mion-sama and the older members had left school, so you have them to thank for its continued existence," Naoya said with a smile. "Still, they were never part of the inner circle so to speak, so I just don't know if they know about the secret or not. It's possible that Rika-sama's taken him into her confidence."

"Okay," I said. "And your parents, Naoya-kun? I haven't met the Ryuuguu family yet."

He frowned. "My parents weren't part of the same friendship group – they're quite a bit older than the others'," he said. "You remember the red-haired girl in the photo album?"

"Of course." I knew at once whom he meant, though her hair was closer to orange, not a real copper red like mine.

"That's Rena, my father's daughter from his first marriage, so that gives you some idea of his age. And my mother was the schoolteacher when Mion-sama and the others were in school."

"I see." There was a long silence, as I filed away all the information I had learned. "And what happened next? After Rika-san died, I mean?"

"She turned up for the festival alive and well, and wouldn't say anything about what had happened to her," said Akito. "I've tried asking her about it, but all she says on the subject is 'nipaa'. I think it's her way of saying 'I'd rather you didn't ask'."

"But what the villagers say," Naoya added, "is that because she died for the sins of the people in place of the intended victim, Oyashiro-sama's curse was lifted. Since then, there have been no more deaths or disappearances – though we still get people, like that old idiot Yanagida, trying to stir up trouble and threatening everyone that the curse will strike again. No-one really believes them, though."

I had to fight back the urge not to laugh. I was not entirely successful.

"What's so funny?" said Akito, giving me a strange look.

"The people really believe that?" I said. "Come on, that's so unimaginative. It's exactly the same as _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe._"

Akito covered his face with his hand for a moment – I'm not sure whether he was hiding his own laughter or his embarrassment.

"Actually," said Naoya, "it bears a closer resemblance to the belief found in –"

"_Stop it_," Kizuna said fiercely. We all looked round, startled; I hadn't heard her speak like this before.

"What's wrong, Kichi-chan?" said Naoya. (That was Akito's pet name for her.)

She turned to face us, face drawn and fists clenched. "You shouldn't joke about things like that," she said. "It's really serious. You can't take someone's sins away just like that. They have to come to terms with it and deal with it for themselves. That's the whole point of the Watanagashi festival."

"Well, to be honest...," I said slowly. Damn. I was probably going to end up offending her either way, but I decided I may as well just tell her how I felt. "I don't see much difference between having your sins taken away by a sacrifice and absorbing them with a ball of cotton."

"Of course there's a difference!" she said. "Oh, I can't say it... you tell her, Saki-chan."

Saki, who had remained some way off, skipping and twirling around us as though we just couldn't move fast enough for her, turned towards us and smiled. "I guess little Kichi-chan doesn't like saying it out loud," she said, stretching out a hand to ruffle Kizuna's hair. "The Watanagashi festival was originally a human sacrifice ritual. They took one person as a scapegoat for the village's sins, and tore out his guts. Tearing up bits of cotton is so much more civilised, don't you think?"

I glanced towards Kotone, who had faced away from us at the start of this recital, and covered her ears. I frowned. But it was a bit late now to ask Saki not to talk about such things in front of the children, and I wanted to get all this sorted out, so I ignored her. "So in other words," I said, "you think that the villagers' belief in Rika's sacrifice is connected to this old custom."

"And that could go a long way towards explaining why no-one seems to want to talk about it," said Akito.

"Well, it's all a confused mess to me," I said. I glanced around at the others one last time and then continued walking.

Naoya quickly fell into step beside me again. "Ah, but you might be in a good position to help us find more of the truth," he said.

"_I_ might?"

"Sure. You see, there's one more person I feel sure is in on the secret – and that's Irie-sensei."

I stopped again. "_Irie-sensei?_"

Naoya nodded earnestly. "Yes. He's very close friends with both Satoko-san and Sonozaki-sensei, and he was the doctor who treated Rika-sama when she was ill. And being a doctor – well, you can see why we'd think he might know a bit more than he lets on."

I took a deep breath. "So you want me to spy on him?" I said coldly. "Because it would be nice, wouldn't it, if I could turn up proof that Irie-sensei committed all the murders. That would let all your parents off the hook quite nicely! I can't _believe_ I'm hearing this."

They had all stopped. They all looked shocked. Well, serve them right! What a load of bloody cheek.

"Miaka-chan...," Akito began.

"I'll handle this," said Naoya. "Miaka-chan, we do _not_ believe that Irie-sensei committed the murders – and we don't believe that any of our parents did either. As far as I'm concerned, the dam construction manager really was murdered by the worker who disappeared; Houjou-san's death was an accident; Furude-san took ill, Houjou Tamae was killed by that drug addict, and Rika-sama... well, I just don't know. But I'm sure that Irie-sensei and the others' parents know something that links all these deaths together, and we'd all like to find out what it is, just so that we don't have to spend the rest of our lives wondering. You can understand that, can't you?"

"Yeah." I paused. "You're right. I'm sorry, Naoya-kun – and everyone."

"That's fine."

"_Not_ fine!" said Kizuna. "You've got to shake hands and make friends."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Necessary, necessary! You have to nurture your bonds of friendship, so they can hold you together when the winds of despair threaten to tear you apart."

Naoya and I looked round at each other and grinned. "Where _does_ she get these speeches?" I said.

"From Rika-sama, no doubt," said Naoya. "Shall we shake?"

We shook.

* * *

><p>Sunday was a fine day, and we were all much too busy enjoying the festival to think any more about deaths or disappearances or any such things. The shrine precinct was full of life and colour all day, and in the evening it was illuminated by long strings of coloured lights shining down from the trees around it. The day started with a firework display as magnificent as any I had seen in the city, and then we mingled with the crowd as we went round all the different stalls. There were food stalls at which we made it a competition to see who could eat the fastest, and game stalls at which we spent many pleasant hours and more money than I like to think about. We had a few arguments as well, of course; but we were all in too good a mood to stay angry with each other for long.<p>

In the evening, a huge crowd – it must have been everyone in the village, two thousand people – gathered in the courtyard of the shrine to watch Kizuna performing her first ever ceremonial dance. Even Rika, who had spent the day in the clinic to get away from all the noise, came back for the dance. Satoko and Azusa opened a curtain at the back of the courtyard, and Kizuna came on stage wearing her ceremonial robes and wielding a large hoe. I was in the front row with Akito and Naoya, and as she came closer we could see that she looked so nervous, I was afraid she was about to run away. But her eyes found Kotone giving her an encouraging wave, and she smiled, half-closed her eyes, and began the dance as if she hadn't a care in the world. And soon, the whole village was cheering for her as she twirled around, waving the hoe in intricate curves like one of those hypnotic screensavers. The dance went on for several minutes, and once she had gotten started, none of us had any more worries about her losing her nerve, nor did we have reason to. The ceremony ended with Kizuna using the hoe to tear up a large mattress, and we all queued up to take our balls of cotton and float them down the river.

"Now remember," said Saki, who was standing in line next to me, "you have to concentrate intently on your sins of the past year, and repent from deep inside your heart; otherwise it doesn't count and Oyashiro-sama will be angry with you."

"I remember," I said wearily. If this was a personal matter as Kizuna had said, the last thing I needed was for her to butt in on it. As I've said, I would have a much deeper sin to think about than any of the trivial misdemeanours Saki would be congratulating herself over apologising for. Oh well; it's nice to be young and carefree, and I could hardly hold it against her.

And so, when I got my ball of cotton, I went away from Saki and crouched by myself on the riverbank, and closed my eyes as I cradled the cotton in my hands and prayed. I wasn't sure if this was the correct ritual, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it?

"I'm really sorry that I hurt my parents," I whispered. "I'm sorry that I forgot my duty to love and trust them as they love and trust me. In future, I promise I will remember how they have nurtured and cherished me for fifteen years, and all the sacrifices they have made for me, and I promise to do what I can to be worthy of those sacrifices." Well, I hoped that would do. I placed the cotton carefully on the surface of the water, and then stood back and watched it float away. It really did feel as though a burden had been lifted from me, so perhaps there was something to what Kizuna had said after all.

"Come on, Miaka!" It was Saki, tugging vigorously on my sleeve. "We have to go downstream and see whose reaches the bridge first!"

"Huh? How will you know whose is whose?"

"We put flags on them, of course! At least, Kotone and I did, but Kizuna refused, so we'll know hers because it's the one without a flag!"

Well, there wasn't much point in arguing, so I let Saki drag me away. We went in a wide arc that avoided the crowds and brought us to a little bank away from the noise of the festival.

"There they are! They're coming!" Saki shouted, jumping up and down.

Kotone and Kizuna, licking identical ice-creams, soon walked over and joined us, with Akito and Naoya following behind at a more leisurely pace. "Yay!" Kotone called out. "I can see mine!"

"Mine's gonna _beat_ you," Saki retorted.

"Hey, what's that?" Kizuna said quietly.

She was pointing at an object that was floating in the river, bobbing up and down in the middle of all the cotton balls. We all looked forward eagerly, and when it came closer, I could see that it was a little wooden box.

"What on earth is that doing there?" I said.

"Search me," said Naoya.

"I'll see if I can fish it out." I knelt on the edge of the river, stretching out my arm. (Did that mean that other people's sins were rubbing off on me as I fumbled my way past the balls of cotton?) The box seemed tantalisingly just out of reach, but I grunted and stretched out my fingers as far as they would go, and a sudden shift in the current tilted the box so that it fell right into my hand. "Got it!"

"Open it! Open it!" Saki chanted.

"I would if I could see how," I said, turning the curious object over. It was one of those puzzle boxes – beautifully carved, with woods of several different colours arranged in an elegant mathematical lattice – but without any lid or other obvious way in. They're fun. Mother has one like it that she keeps her wedding ring in, and she lets me play with it when I want to.

"Let me do it," said Saki. "I bet that one's easy. You should see the ones Mother makes!"

"No, I want to do it," I said. "Besides, I got it out of the river." I explored the surface methodically, noting which parts moved and in what patterns, trying to figure out the sequence that would allow me to get one side of the box fully open. Saki was very soon tutting with impatience, but Akito seemed to agree that I had the right to try first, as he held her back from interfering. Kotone stood close by and cheered me on; Kizuna just stood by the side of the river and watched the cotton balls as they floated past.

At last, I found the method, and got a panel loose that I pulled off with a triumphant flourish. But then I looked down in surprise. There was nothing inside except for a scrap of newspaper!

"Let's see that," Akito said, digging it out. He started to unfold it, and I suddenly caught a glimpse of the picture –

"Hey!" I shouted. "Those are my parents!"

"Huh?" Akito said, fully unfolding the paper and staring at it. His expression immediately changed; his eyes narrowed and his frown deepened into a grimace.

"_Let me see that!_"

He quickly held it behind his back, out of my reach. "You don't want to see this, Miaka-chan," he said. "This... this is just someone's idea of a sick joke."

"_I want to see it!_" I screamed, jumping up. I tried to snatch it, but Akito kept turning so that the paper was always behind him. However, as he was concentrating on me, Naoya stepped up and quietly lifted the paper from between his fingers.

"What does it say, Naoya-kun?" said Saki.

Akito whirled round and tried to snatch it again, but I grabbed onto his arm and held him back. "Please just read it out," I said.

"Oh, very well," Naoya said with a sigh. He, too, was frowning deeply. "_Grieving parents Teramachi Shunsuke and his wife Mikoto mourn the loss of their daughter Miaka, the only outsider known to have been present in Hinamizawa when the village was destroyed._"

"_What!_" I shrieked. I couldn't take this in. "My parents... think I'm... _dead_?"

"I told you you shouldn't have read it," said Akito, rubbing the side of his face. I guess that shriek had been a little close to his ear. Still, it served him right.

"But wait a second," said Naoya. "This must have been written yesterday, to be in today's paper. Haven't you spoken with your parents at all today?"

I put a hand over my mouth. I'd meant to, but I'd been enjoying the festival so much that I'd completely forgotten!

"_Is_ it today's paper?" said Akito.

Naoya unfolded a little crease along the top edge, and then blinked in surprise. "June twentieth."

"The _twentieth_?" said Akito. "But... today is the fifteenth! It's... from the _future_?"

"That makes no sense," said Naoya. He had now turned over the scrap of paper and was scrutinising the other side. Kotone had come forward and was holding my hand tightly, for which I felt very grateful. I just stood there; I couldn't say anything. I just couldn't.

"You're looking on the wrong side," said Akito.

"Actually, I think this _is_ the more important side," said Naoya. "Look at this league table. It says that Tsukimori are on 24 points, with 22 goals for and 13 against. That means they must beat Miboshi 5-2 in tonight's game. And Shirakawa get a draw, and Kazemiya must beat Karuizawa – no-one in their right mind would ever bet for that to happen."

"You idiot!" cried Akito. "Miaka-chan's going to _die_ and you waste time talking about sport!"

"She is _not_ going to die," Kotone said firmly.

But Akito paid her no attention. "You and your stupid football obsession," he went on. "Football is for sissies. Baseball, now – that's a real _man's_ game!"

Naoya adjusted his glasses and looked him straight in the eyes. "_Now_ who's wasting time arguing about sport?" he said.

"That's not the point!"

"_Stop it, you two!_" said Kizuna, stepping in between them and extending both arms as if to hold them apart.

"Thanks, Kichi-chan," said Naoya. "Don't you see?"

"See what?" said Akito.

"I can go to town tomorrow and find out all tonight's actual results. If this thing does turn out to have predicted them correctly" – he gulped as he said this – "then there's a chance that what's on the other side ought to be taken seriously too."

We all stood and stared at each other in dumbstruck horror.


	5. Part I Ch 4 Deduction

**(o)  
><strong>

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**4  
>Deduction<strong>

I got no sleep at all that night. I just couldn't. I lay on my bed, curled up in a tight ball; I had tossed and turned so much that my blanket finally gave up the struggle and took itself off to rest on the floor. There was too much light: it wasn't hurting my eyes, but it was just _there_, red dots on the medical apparatus, jagged cracks of moonlight cutting around the edges of the window, and an ever-present yellow buzzing gleam from somewhere behind the door. It all gave the room a feeling of oppressive solidity, as though it were holding me in place and stopping me falling into the borderless chasm of sleep. The walls were vague patches of colour, some indefinable distance away; and whenever I turned my head, the afterimage of light seared onto my eyes seemed to merge into the walls and make them more prominent, as though they were closing in on me, pushing towards me, stifling and suffocating. I had to close my eyes and take a series of rapid breaths to remind myself that there was still air.

_I'm going to die._

I clutched Gollum, my teddy bear, tightly in my arms. Pressing my face against his soft fabric, I tried as hard as I could to fill my senses with his prickly, tenderly abrasive texture and his honey-like smell, a smell that could almost transport me back to my room at home and to safety, if I could only lose for a moment the whirring of the air conditioner and the slow, laboured breathing of the trees in the night wind. I had liked those noises on my first night here, when they were part of the thrill of a new place. They had a kind of soothing lilt to them, as though they were watching over me and telling me that I had nothing to be afraid of here. Now they were part of my prison.

_I'm really going to die..._

There was no way out. Oh, I fantasised about getting up and running away, sneaking out of the clinic and running to Okinomiya, and then getting my parents to pick me up and drive me away and _never_ coming back. But I wasn't really going to do it. I knew I couldn't. So many people were depending on me: my parents, Irie-sensei, Rika-sama. I had to show them that I could do this. If I came running back now, I wouldn't be able to look any of them in the eye. After what I'd done, I owed it to them to stay and do the best I could. If this was going to help prevent the Hinamizawa Syndrome breaking out and spreading, I _had_ to do everything I could, even if it meant –

I shook my head. This wasn't working; I was shaking and shivering as my stomach lurched in a series of palpitating jerks, no matter how much I tried to be rational and clear my head of all emotion. It wasn't even the thought of death itself; somehow even worse was knowing that someone wanted me to believe it. Maybe I'm just too young to understand what death really means – but I've been in high school long enough to understand very well all the backstabbing and head-stomping, the constant struggle to maintain a good standing, the ever-present pinprick worry that the regard your friends seem to hold you in might be nothing more than a façade. And I don't pretend I'm the most popular girl in school, and I know there are plenty of people who don't like me; but to be confronted with a joke or threat about my _death_ was something else entirely. Someone had to really _hate_ me for that. I could almost feel their presence, as though something hidden in the shadows was making the darkness more solid. I couldn't look towards them, couldn't start to think about whether they were real or not; I somehow knew that if I concentrated too hard, I would begin to hear their laughter.

I almost wished I knew who it was. _Almost._ At least that would change things, might give me a way out of this horrible cloying darkness. But the part of me that was still able to think rationally knew that it would probably only make things worse. At least while they were still just a shadow, I could turn away and let them blend into the night. I couldn't make them go away, but I could pretend. And that voice, that laughter – it was just my own voice, wasn't it? I'd just been dwelling on the words of the newspaper cutting for so long that I could somehow still hear it. I just had to keep myself curled up tight and my senses tightly closed...

* * *

><p>The next thing I knew was the sound of a knock on the door, gently at first, then louder. The room had become light again: so light that my eyes ached. I felt an urge to bury myself in the folds of the sheet, block out as much light as I could, try to get some sleep. I was too tired to do anything else, wasn't I?<p>

A voice was calling my name. I had to respond. I groaned and rolled over.

"Miaka-san? Are you all right?" It was Irie.

This wouldn't do. I _had_ to be more awake, or I would just be easy prey for my unknown enemy. I pushed myself up, and fell out of bed and onto the floor with a heavy thump.

"Irie-sensei?" I said faintly.

"It's time for school. Do you need any help?"

"No – no, I'm fine," I said quickly as I lifted myself up. The side I had fallen on hurt, and the room was still wobbling, but that doesn't count. I slipped on my dressing-gown and opened the door.

Irie looked at me steadily for a few moments. "You don't look fine," he said. "Perhaps you should stay home from school today?"

"I said, _I'm okay._" I stood and glared at him, trying to make him uncomfortable. It's not that I was offended by his concern; I just didn't want to deal with him right now.

"Well, if you're sure," he said, frowning doubtfully. I just stood there, looking as emotionless as I could manage, and at last he turned and walked away.

* * *

><p>I arrived at school only a little late, but I still got a stern look from Sonozaki-sensei as I skidded into the classroom, throwing the door open with a loud bang. I stumbled into my seat and muttered a faint good-morning and apology; then almost at once my head fell onto my desk with a heavy thud. The other children (except Akito) started to laugh. I guess they just assumed I'd had a bit much to drink at the festival. Well, let them think that if they wanted to; at least that would keep me from any awkward questions... I yawned deeply, and then tilted my head up and looked around. Where had Naoya gone?<p>

At lunchtime, Akito pushed the tables together as usual and got his lunch out. It smelt very appetising, as I'd come to expect. I'd had plenty of opportunity to observe the others' lunches, since the ones the clinic made for me were nothing special, and my friends were always very nice and let me have a little each of theirs. Akito and Kotone's were delicious, but Saki's were something else entirely – like being given a small capsule of sensations from another world, concentrated together so finely that it was impossible to describe, even to distinguish them; but just that small taste was enough to tell you that for the rest of your life you would be hoping to one day find out how to reach that world.

Today, though, I just didn't feel like eating, so I pushed myself away from the table and went outside. I sat down on a wooden seat outside one of the forestry tool sheds and stared over the tops of the trees in the distance, not really taking anything in. I think maybe time had stopped working properly for me, and that's why I wasn't getting hungry.

So I can't say how long it was before I felt a nudge, and turned to see Kizuna sitting on the seat beside me, gazing wistfully up at me with an expression of deep concern. "What's wrong, Miaka-san?" she said.

"You should be eating your lunch."

She slipped her arm under mine. "You're more important than lunch. Please talk to me."

"Kizuna-chan..." I just couldn't think of anything to say.

"Hey now, no slipping off and skipping lunch!" This was of course Saki, who came skidding along the gravel behind us and thumped me between the shoulders. "Cheer up, Miaka. You look like your favourite pet just died or something."

"Saki-chan..." I sighed deeply.

"She's right, you know," said Kotone. "You've got no reason to be miserable. Whatever it is, we'll help you deal with it."

"Thanks, guys," I said wearily, "but really, I'd just rather be alone right now."

I rose unsteadily to my feet, took a few moments to find my balance, and gently pushed Kizuna back when she tentatively touched me to ask whether I wanted any help. The horizon was wobbling a little, but I blinked until it went back to normal. Then I started to walk away – but just then there was a scraping noise away to the side, and I turned to see Naoya riding a bike at high speed through the school gates. He swerved to bring himself to a halt close by us, and dismounted.

"Where have you been?" said Akito – by this stage I was hardly surprised to find that he too had joined us.

"You know that. I went into town to check on those football results."

"You've been gone all morning!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." He leant his bike against the shed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked more like someone getting off a rollercoaster they never want to go anywhere near again than just a bike. He sighed. "There was... a bit of commotion in town. Look – I can't really talk about this here. Not in front of the kids."

"You heard him," said Akito, glancing over his shoulder. "Saki-chan, Kotone, Kichi, please go back inside."

"Aww, but I want to hear this!" said Saki, screwing her face up into a glare.

"I said, _go back inside!_"

"Fine," she said with a stamp of her foot. "Enjoy your private time with your little threesome."

Akito scowled after her as she took Kotone and Kizuna by the arm and led them away. I remained standing, looking in Naoya's direction but not really seeing him. I think I had gone into a sort of stand-by mode, waiting until it was time to switch myself on again.

"So," Akito said at last, "what sort of commotion?"

Naoya took a deep breath. "There was a police line outside a restaurant called Angel Mort, and a large crowd of onlookers. It was hard to find a way around – and people did insist on talking about what had happened."

"And you insisted on listening. So, go on, tell us."

Naoya glanced towards me, but I just stared him directly in the face. There was no way he was going to get _me_ to go back inside like I was a little kid.

"Well, apparently there was a murder there this morning," he said, looking away to avoid eye contact. "What I heard was, two rival yakuza factions were meeting in the restaurant for some sort of negotiation. Things got heated, someone took out a gun and fired over the other guys' heads – and, well, there just happened to be a waitress standing in the path of the bullet."

"Oh no!" I cried. "That... it's just horrible. The poor thing!"

"Yeah, it's horrible," said Naoya. There was nothing more to be said; the three of us stood in silence for a long while. The air did not grow colder, but all the same, there was something different about the way it felt, something I could only describe as the presence of death in all its brutal reality. Who was she, this girl? Perhaps someone no older than me, full of energy, full of dreams and plans for the future, not even looking towards where the bullet was about to come from, completely oblivious to what was about to cross her path... I shuddered and closed my eyes. I wasn't going to let the same thing happen to me! I _had_ to be strong. I had to fight!

At last Naoya coughed and said, "Uh, Miaka-chan... I found those football results for you."

I took a deep breath. No point in trying to hide. I had to be ready for this.

"Yes?"

"They... they were all exactly the same as what the paper predicted. I'm sorry, Miaka-chan. I know this isn't what you wanted to hear..."

There was another long silence.

"Don't forget, we're all in this together," said Naoya. "We'll stay by your side right to the end, won't we, Akito-kun?"

Akito was scowling fiercely – not at me, but at the unknown enemy. "Absolutely!" he said. "No way I'd let you die on my watch, on my honour as a Sonozaki!"

"Thanks, guys," I said faintly. "I.. I think I'd better go back to the clinic. Can you tell Sonozaki-sensei I'm not feeling well?"

Akito looked at me in surprise. "Sure," he said. "You want one of us to come back with you?"

"No, I'd rather be alone for a while."

"Okay, but we're all coming to see you after school. We can bring some indoor games."

I shook my head. "It's very kind of you, but I want to be alone."

"But it'll cheer you up –"

"Akito-kun," I said slowly, "_I want to be alone._"

He put his hands on his hips and scowled at me, and I did the same in return. We stood staring at each other for a long while, but at last he shook his head and looked away. "Fine," he said. "But I'm coming round first thing tomorrow to see how you are. You can't stay on your own for ever. You're one of us now, and the club doesn't let its members down."

"We're all concerned for you," said Naoya. "Promise you'll let us know if you want to talk?"

"All right, I promise," I said with a weary sigh. I made as near to a smile as I could manage, and then walked off. I didn't look back, not even to see whether the girls were watching me from the window. Right now, I just didn't want to know.

* * *

><p>I was feeling a little less irritated by the time I got back to the clinic. I knew the others meant well; they were just worried about me, which was only natural considering the state I was in. Still, their being worried wasn't going to help me. I needed to sit down and think this all through logically and try to work out what it meant, and that was something I had to do on my own.<p>

Irie was busy seeing a patient, so I just slipped past him and back into my room. For some reason – it just made me feel safer – I locked the door, and then got out my notebook and wrote:

_Fact 1. There is absolutely no such thing as predestination, time travel, or knowledge of the future. I am not about to start believing in fairy stories just because of one anomaly that I can't explain._

I looked over these words, took a deep breath, and smiled. Somehow, having written that down made me feel a lot better, as though it gave me a kind of power to be sticking a finger up at the universe and letting it know that I wasn't about to lie down and let it ride all over me. I gritted my teeth and went on:

_Fact 2. A newspaper article, dated 20 June, claims that I have died._

That was the best way of putting it; no speculation as yet, just undeniable fact. It was cold and clinical, and I found, somewhat to my surprise, that I could write it without emotion.

Still, it wasn't time to move on to "Fact 3" just yet. There had to be enough material here to get _somewhere_ at least. I sat staring at the wall for a long while, and then started to write again.

_This article must have been printed by someone. Why would someone do this – what are the possible reasons? As a joke, or to upset me, or as a serious threat – or a warning?_

_The idea of a joke can be ruled out. The quality of the fake newspaper, if it is a fake, is just too good. Everything about it – the paper itself, the style and layout – looks real. I can't see anyone going to so much trouble (and expense) just for a silly practical joke._

_A threat or a warning, then? In other words, was it made by someone on my side, trying to warn me of a possible danger, or an enemy who's enjoying watching me panic?_

I clenched my left fist under the table. Even though I knew it was pointless, as the enemy was not here and no-one could see what I wrote except myself, I scrawled under it: _I am NOT going to panic._

There, that felt good.

Time to move on...

_Fact 3. On the other side of the article was a football league table that, according to what Naoya told me, accurately predicted the results of this week's matches._

That was the big one; that was what I had to explain. I sat frowning at it for a while, read it over again, and then slowly underlined the words "according to what Naoya told me". Something was not quite right, and I was beginning to get the feeling that the clue was somewhere very close at hand. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to close off the world and concentrate entirely on picking out that clue. Then I looked back down at what I had written, and continued to write as the thoughts came to my mind:

_How do I know Naoya is telling the truth? He is the only one of our group who follows football._

_Well, what are the other possibilities?_

_He could have just lied about what the actual results were? No – he would know that any of us could easily check whether he was telling the truth or not. Even if he doesn't expect us to check, he would know that any of us might, and it would be too great a risk._

_Could he have guessed the results in advance because he knows the game so well? No, that's just ridiculous._

_Then – could he have fixed the results? Or, at least, could he be in contact with someone who fixed them? That makes no sense. Why would someone who had the power and money to fix football results waste it on someone as insignificant as me?_

_Well then – what the hell else is possible?_

I threw the pen down and leant back with a deep sigh, and remained unmoving for a long time. _Damn._ This just wasn't working; I couldn't get to the bottom of it. Indeed, I wasn't really any further along than when I had started. Sure, I had eliminated some impossible factors, but they were all obvious. Our logic teacher has always taught us that when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains is the truth; but I just couldn't see what _did_ remain. It was like staring into the night sky with a telescope and seeing nothing but blackness, and then realising the lens cap is still on. Except I didn't know how to take it off.

I screwed my face up and tried to _force_ myself to push through the blackness. The results had been the same as what Naoya said they would be. He predicted them in advance. That was _impossible_ – at least, put like that, it was impossible. And yet, how else could I put it?

And then I saw it. Almost as if I were no longer in control of my hand, I found myself writing rapidly:

_What if Naoya was telling the truth about the actual results, but they were __not__ the same as what the paper predicted? In other words, when he went into town today, after he found out the actual results, he switched the paper for one that matched the actual results, just in case one of us asked to see the paper again to make sure the results were correct. (Damn – I should have asked this. Or maybe not. That might have made him suspicious.) After all, whatever method was used to make the fake paper, it would surely be just as easy to make two as to make one._

I took a deep breath. This was good; I was getting somewhere at last! But I had to go on; I had to see where it took me –

_What, though, is the purpose behind all this? Why would anyone go to so much trouble?_

_Well... what __does__ anyone gain by it? Yes, it's upset me, but there has to be more to it than that. What other effect has the paper had?_

_I told Akito and the others. They know about the paper predicting my death._

_So... if I die, they will think that my death was due to a supernatural agency._

_Who would benefit from that?_

_If there is someone who wants to kill me, then making people believe in a supernatural cause for my death might stop people looking for a natural cause._

I was shaking. This was a lot harder; I had to rush to get the words down, to stop myself looking back at "someone who wants to kill me" and thinking about what that really meant. Well, maybe it wasn't the only possibility. Again, I found myself writing so fast that I was not even aware of the words coming into my mind before the pen deflected them onto the paper.

_No-one in Hinamizawa has any reason to want to kill me; I haven't been here long enough. But what if the person doesn't want to kill __me__, they just want to kill someone?_

_If one person dies and one person disappears, then belief in Oyashiro-sama's curse may be revived. To whose advantage would that be?_

_Yanagida's group, perhaps. They may become more powerful if they can get people to believe in their prophecies._

_Conversely, Furude Rika and the Sonozaki family would be disadvantaged, as they have been trying to convince the people of Hinamizawa that the curse is a thing of the past. So another possibility is that their enemies wish to revive the curse in order to discredit them. And if the Sonozakis are as powerful as Naoya said, they must have many enemies. Including, just possibly, a faction within the family who wish to shake things up and discredit the current leaders of the family._

I shook my head. Too many unknowns. How was I going to find out about conflicts of interest within the Sonozaki family without drawing attention to myself? For that matter, who was the other target – and could I warn them before it was too late, or had they already died? It wasn't the girl who had been killed at Angel Mort; in order to fit the pattern, it had to be someone in Hinamizawa.

Still... I knew now that I was on the right lines. I looked again over what I had written, feeling a horrible sense of shadows closing in on me as I did so. I think I could have coped with it better if I'd known that someone wanted to kill me because of something I'd done. I mean, I'd have found it pretty shocking, because I _know_ I'm not a malicious person and I don't normally go round giving people a reason to wish me dead – but at least I would have known what to do. I could go to the person and plead with them, apologise to them, whatever it took – I'd just get them to realise that whatever I might have done, it wasn't worth killing me over. But this – knowing that someone was planning to kill me just because they needed to kill _someone_ and I would make an easy target – that thought was like a basilisk trying to petrify me with its glare. _I don't know what to do... but I must do something!_ But it seemed that whatever way I turned, the shadows reached out to enclose me; black clouds of smoke billowed up around me, choking and suffocating. I could no longer see what direction to run in...

I had to tell someone. I had to share this, to get someone to help me. But who?

Akito... but as soon as his face came into my mind, I shut my eyes tight and faced the other way until he disappeared again. He would share it with Naoya... and Naoya _had_ to be part of the conspiracy. There was no way around that. He was the only one who could have switched the papers and fooled the rest of us about the football results. Keeping my eyes closed, I took a deep breath and allowed the image of Naoya's face to come into my mind. His perpetual frown I now saw as something darker: a dissatisfaction with life that led him to regard other people's happiness as something to envy rather than rejoice in. An envy that, no doubt, had been nurtured all too well over the years by being best friends with Akito, whose family were so rich. But he had learned not to show it; his glasses hid so well whatever dark fires were smouldering in his eyes! I turned away again, shivering.

So... who could I tell? _All_ the others were too close to Naoya; they had been friends with him all their lives. They would never believe me. I didn't know whether Akito was also part of the scheme – I really hoped not – but there was no way he would trust me rather than his best friend. The younger ones, I was sure were innocent; there was no way I could see energetic Saki, cheerful Kotone or kind-hearted Kizuna as part of a deep conspiracy to commit murder. But I couldn't share this with any of them either, or they would tell Akito, or even outright ask Naoya whether it was true.

Irie-sensei, then? But I could picture only too clearly how that conversation would go. "Doctor, I think Naoya-kun is trying to kill me..." "Hmm, your Hinamizawa Syndrome is obviously recurring. You'd better get to bed and take some medicine." I shuddered.

That was the point, wasn't it? I'd been primed with all this talk about Hinamizawa Syndrome precisely so that if I ever _did_ discover the plot, they would have a ready-made excuse to dismiss whatever I said. If I tried to tell _anyone_ – Irie-sensei, Rika, the police – they would all say the same thing now, that I was just being paranoid. I couldn't even show them the paper as proof; now that the games were in the past it didn't mean anything, not without the others to back up my story about when and how I had found it. And – again – I couldn't get them involved.

No, I would have to do this alone, that much was clear. But what could I do? I could be attacked and killed at any time! They knew exactly where I was...

I stopped and breathed heavily. _Of course!_ That was the very first thing to do. I must leave the clinic – and at once. I couldn't even take my suitcase. I hastily shoved a few clothes and other essentials into a smaller travelling bag, and my notebook as well. Then, after listening for a moment at the door to see whether Irie was around (and I heard nothing, so I guess he was still dealing with his patients) I slipped over to the window, climbed out, and jumped like a cat onto the ground below.

In spite of everything, I couldn't help smiling a little. Their plan was to make me disappear. Very well, then! How would they react when they found I had disappeared already?


	6. Part I Ch 5 The Kindness of Strangers

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**5  
>The Kindness of Strangers<strong>

It was late afternoon by the time I arrived in Okinomiya, and the air inside the bus was so thick and stiff that it felt more like my head was in water. I drew heavy breaths, my head lolling awkwardly over my shoulder. I tried to hold it up, but I couldn't; the sun beat down relentlessly, and my muscles ached. I felt as though a hot iron was being pressed against the back of my neck, and a prickly shrub was stuck in my throat. How had it come to this? When I left the clinic I had been in fairly good spirits; I was worried and frightened, but at least I was _doing_ something, taking control of my destiny. Now – I suppose my lack of sleep must have finally caught up with me. And I wished I had taken something to drink. I had to dig into my last reserves of energy just to look up and face the world, and yet I _had_ to keep going. I sighed, closed my eyes for a short while to try and recharge, and then slowly lifted myself up and staggered off the bus.

Once I was in the streets, I felt a little better. The day was still just as hot, but the air was not quite so unbearably clammy. And somehow, there was something strangely comforting about being surrounded by people, so many ordinary people, walking up and down the streets in hypnotic rhythms just as they did on every other day. No-one paid me any attention; no-one here knew or cared who I was. The world was still the same world – a world in which my troubles were only a very small part. And here I was: I had come here to lose myself in the world, to become just another face among the many, many faces.

I walked along aimlessly for a while, getting some distance between myself and the bus stop, and then started looking around. First, I needed refreshment, and I wasn't too fussy about the quality. A small café called the Old Oak looked appealing, so I slipped inside. Almost at once, I felt I had made the right choice. It was a cosy place, a small number of seats widely spaced, with pretty wooden trellises separating their backs. The cushions, a soft green, looked furry and comfortable. The windows were wide, but the light coming through them was filtered by a delicate array of plants; their flowers filled the room with a soothing fragrance. I dropped onto one of the seats with a deep sigh of relief, tilted my head back and drank the lovely cool air like the most refreshing water you ever tasted.

I don't think I fell asleep as such, but the world dissolved into a dim blur for a while, and then I slowly became aware that someone was speaking to me. I blinked a few times, took a deep breath to force myself awake, and looked round. A very pretty waitress with long brown hair was looking down at me with an impish grin that reminded me a little of Saki.

"Oh!" I said. "Uh... I'll have a coffee, please. And a slice of apple cake."

I paid for the order, and then counted out the rest of my money. I was going to have to be careful; I couldn't get any more money out of the bank, as that could be traced. Still, I only had to hide until the twentieth. Four days. After that, the threat would have expired and I could reappear – though how I was going to explain things to Irie-sensei, I had no idea. But there would be time to think about that. For now, the most important thing was to find somewhere to stay. No way I was going to spend the night on the streets of a strange city!

"Thank you," I said to the waitress.

She bowed. "If you don't mind my saying so, you looked like you needed it."

"No kidding." I glanced up; she was hovering near the table, as though unsure of whether I wanted her to leave or not.

She quickly bowed again. "Is there anything else you require?"

"Actually, maybe you can help me," I said. "Could you recommend a fairly cheap hotel around here?" I _should_ have enough for a hotel for four days. If I'm careful.

Her face brightened up at once. "You should try the Moderato!" she said. "It's just round the corner, very cheap, and the staff are really friendly!"

"You've stayed there in the past?"

She blushed, and fumbled a little. "Well, no... actually I haven't..." She lifted her tray a little to try to hide her embarrassment.

I turned sharply towards her. "So how do you know the staff are so friendly?"

She was clearly flustered. "Uh... that is... well, Manager-san always tells us to recommend the Moderato whenever we get a chance!"

I chuckled. "I see. Personal connections?"

She seemed, if anything, relieved that I had guessed. "That's right. Manager-san is a close friend of Sonozaki Yoshirou, the owner of the Moderato."

"Oh." This wasn't good. I carefully put my coffee down on the table. "Did you say Sonozaki?"

She nodded. "Yes. Is something wrong?"

I sighed. "No... it's just... well, could you recommend somewhere that _isn't_ owned by a member of the Sonozaki family?"

She blinked, and then burst into an odd rhythmic laughter. "You... you want a hotel that isn't owned by the Sonozaki family?" she said at last. "In Okinomiya? That's like going on holiday to America and saying you don't want to meet any Americans!"

I must have shown my distress more clearly than I intended, as she immediately put down her tray, sat down opposite me and stretched out a hand. "Are you all right?"

I took a deep breath. I guess I had to say _something_. I couldn't just run away. I had to accept that I wasn't going to make it without help, and be grateful for what I was offered. Still, I couldn't say too much, and I certainly wasn't going to say anything about predictions or conspiracies.

"I'm trying to hide from them," I mumbled. "The Sonozakis, I mean."

"Whew!" She whistled. "What's someone like you done to get on their wrong side?"

"I... I'm not entirely sure..." I hid my face behind my hand.

"Well then, what makes you feel that you have to hide from them?" She was leaning in towards me, and her eyes had a look about them of earnest concern.

"It's complicated," I said. Her eyelids fluttered in response. I sighed. "Look, I think... I think someone may be trying to kill me, but I don't really know who..."

"This is for real?" She stared at me, and her mouth fell open. "Wow! I mean... sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was doubting you, I can see you're upset..." Her voice trailed off.

I smiled as well as I could. "It's okay. I can see why it would be hard to believe."

For some reason, that made her grimace. "Actually," she said, "I hardly know what to believe in this place any more. Did you hear there was a murder in town only this morning?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I heard."

She stretched her hand out further, and I opened my hand out and allowed her to touch my fingers. "So I believe you," she said. "But I don't know what I can do to help – oh!"

She swung round, startled, as the front door opened loudly and a man came in. He was very tall, dressed in a smart black suit and red tie, and strode in with a posture that told the world he wanted to be treated with respect. My waitress jumped up, grabbed her tray and held it, shaking, in front of her as she bowed to the man. "M... manager-san!"

He scowled. "Aya-chan, what have I told you about chatting to friends on the job?"

"I... I'm very sorry... that is to say..."

I was just debating with myself whether I should step in and claim responsibility, when a side door creaked open, and I looked round to see a woman standing there. She was clearly in a state of deep distress; her waist-length black hair was untidy, her cheeks greyed with streaks of grime. She stumbled rather than walked across the room to the manager. His face changed at once to an expression of frozen sadness, as though his sympathy was trapped inside him, beating helplessly against the window panes of his eyes. He did not move at first, but when the woman came close to him, he took a step towards her and clasped her in his arms, and she leant into him, dropped her head on his shoulders, and cried.

A couple of the other customers looked away in embarrassment, but I continued to watch. People are an endless source of fascination, and that was what I needed right now. The manager's hands met each other behind the woman's back, completing a circle that held her securely; but he was not pressing her tightly. It was not, I felt, a lovers' embrace; and they didn't seem to be father and daughter, though their ages would have been about right for that. They were old friends – or perhaps comrades would be a better word. They had been through the struggles of life together, and would always be there for each other when one of them needed someone to turn to. In truth, I felt envious; I had never had someone I could be as close to as that. I wondered what history had led to it.

One thing, at any rate, was easy enough to guess. I didn't know who the woman was, but given the tragedy that had taken place that morning, it was only too clear what she was crying about. Having got this information, I can't really say I intended to do anything about it; but somehow I found myself standing up and stepping awkwardly towards them. They both looked round.

"Um..." I stopped and bowed deeply. "I'm so sorry to hear about... what happened..."

The woman broke away and stood facing me. She was looking down at me with an air of haunted surprise, as though her eyes were empty and some ghost was moving her eyelids for her.

Her mouth flattened out, and she bowed in return. "Thank you," she said. "Do you mind if we sit down here?"

"Oh, not at all!" I said quickly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aya giving me a "Good luck!" wink and scurrying off to take care of her duties.

They both sat down, and it was a different waitress, a girl with shorter dark hair, who took their order. When she had gone, the woman turned to me and said, "I'm afraid I don't remember you. Should I know who you are?"

"Not at all!" I quickly said. "Um... forgive me, I didn't mean to intrude on a private matter."

"No, it's okay," she said. "It was kind of you to show concern. Though really, it's the poor girl's family you have to feel sorry for."

"Ah... you're not her family, then?"

The man looked at me sharply, but the woman placed a hand on his wrist to keep him quiet. "It's all right," she said. "No – she wasn't family. In fact, I don't even know who she was." She screwed up her face, and I could tell she was straining not to burst into tears again.

"Such a terrible tragedy," said the man, gently stroking the back of her hand. She sobbed and nodded.

"I can't help thinking about... how it could have been just anyone," she said. "You just stumble blindly through life, thinking that what you see is all there is, when there are... _things_ out there, just out of sight, waiting to step in and strike at you at any time."

I gave a nervous little cough.

She turned towards me. "Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, little lady."

"Oh no, it's not you," I said. I sighed. I hadn't intended to tell _anyone_ about my predicament, and here I was, about to tell everything to a complete stranger for the second time in less than an hour! What was coming over me? This wasn't like me at all!

Still, she looked so lost and vulnerable – and what really affected me, I think, was that even after she had been through so much, she still looked _guilty_ because she thought she had upset me. I couldn't just walk away after that.

"Actually," I said slowly, "the truth is... I'm frightened because I think there _is_ someone trying to kill me."

The man put his drink down with a sudden thud and gazed at me, no doubt trying to judge whether I was sincere. I smiled faintly in return, hoping I was making a good impression.

"Why do you think that?"

"Uh... it's a long story." (No! That won't do; I have to find _something_ more I can say to help convince him. But what?) "But, well... I'm on the run, and you _mustn't_ tell anyone you saw me here – promise? Especially not anyone from the Sonozaki family."

The pair of them turned their heads slowly and shared a baffled glance with each other.

"Do tell me more!" said the woman. She had wiped away her tears, and suddenly looked almost cheerful – it was rather alarming. "Why are the Sonozakis out for your blood? Is it any one branch of the family in particular?"

I backed away a little; it hardly seemed natural that she could be smiling like that, given the circumstances. "Uh... well, I don't know too much about the branches of the family," I said cautiously. "But it's the Sonozakis in Hinamizawa, especially, who _must not_ find out where I am."

"_Intriguing,_" she said, licking her lips. "Oryou-sama? I know she looks like a scary little demon, but she wouldn't hurt a fly. It's not Akane; if she wanted to hurt you, you wouldn't know about it until it was too late... one of the twins, then?" She winked at the man. "You know the twins a lot better than I do, Kasai-san. Which of them do you think it is?"

Kasai scowled. "For my sins, I do, yes," he said. "And if this were twenty years ago, I'd have no difficulty at all understanding why you might think one of them wanted to kill you. But they're both a bit more... _civilised_ now."

"Oh, no, it's not the twins who want to kill me," I said quickly. "Actually, it's just the opposite – I think someone wants to kill me because my death would be to the twins' disadvantage. Perhaps, if you know them, you'd know – are there any divisions within the family? Anyone who might want to harm their interests?"

Kasai and the woman, again, looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Well," she said slowly, "Oryou-sama has four children – Akane, Hiroshi, Yoshirou and Saburou. Akane would have been the family heir, but she was disinherited for marrying a member of the Misora clan. Hiroshi's always been bitter that Akane's daughter was allowed to become the heir in her place – he felt it should have gone to him as the next eldest." She frowned. "But this was all years ago. I can't believe anyone would kill anyone about it now."

"I see," I said, as I carefully turned this all over. "Thank you." Then I blinked and frowned up at her. "You seem to be very well-informed about the Sonozaki family..."

She burst out laughing, and Kasai raised his eyes to the ceiling.

"Did I forget to introduce you?" he said. "This is Sonozaki Karen, the younger daughter of Councillor Sonozaki Saburou."

I froze. Karen turned back towards me and smiled, but I couldn't return her smile. I couldn't move. I couldn't process this.

She stretched out a hand to touch mine, and I wanted to pull it away, but I couldn't even do that.

"It's all right," she said. "We're not going to hurt you. In fact, I promise we'll keep you safe – even from the rest of the family."

I pressed myself back against my seat. She gazed at me, her eyes wide and sorrowful.

"Please trust us," she whispered.

Breathing heavily, I forced my hand to stretch out and touch hers. I didn't know what to think; I _couldn't_ think any more. But I knew I had to trust her and Kasai. The damage was done; if I ran away from them now, probably the first thing they would do would be to tell Mion and Shion they had seen me in Okinomiya. If I stayed, there was still a chance I could convince them to keep silent. Besides, I needed to confide in someone. If this ended up being the wrong decision – it was no longer my choice.

"I trust you," I whispered. "_Please_ help me stay hidden."

"Don't you have a place to live?" said Kasai. "What about your family?"

"I can't go back to them. Not yet." He was frowning at me, so I hastily added, "I can't explain, but _please_ trust me on this – just as I've agreed to trust you."

He blinked at Karen, and she smiled back at him and said, "She does have a point, you know."

"I just want to know what I'm letting myself in for," said Kasai. He sighed heavily. "If there's one thing I've learned from Shion, it's the importance of making sure you've read the small print before you sign on the dotted line."

"I only need a place to stay for four days," I said. "On the twentieth it will all be over, and I won't be any more trouble to you."

"Very well, very well," said Kasai. "So – you want us to put you up?"

"Oh, no! I just thought... maybe you could recommend a hotel?"

Kasai leant in towards me. "Look, little girl," he said. "Do you have a name, by the way?"

I nodded with a nervous smile. "Teramachi Miaka."

"Well then, Miaka-san, if you want to go on the run, you need to know a few basic things about stealth."

I was indignant. "Hey, I've been selected for the prefectural 'Capture the flag' team, I'll have you know!"

Kasai raised his eyes again. "Capture the flag! Listen, child, you're in the real world now. For a start, that red hair of yours sticks out a mile. If you just walk into a hotel and ask for a room, your enemies will have your room number before the end of one night, never mind four."

I gulped. I couldn't deny that it was a good point. "So what should I do?"

"I would suggest you come and stay at my place." I must have twitched in alarm, for he quickly added, "It's all right, you don't need to worry. I used to be Sonozaki Shion's guardian, and I'd put you in her half of the flat. It has separate locks and all, so you'd be quite safe – even from me, assuming you don't fully trust me, which by the way is very wise of you." He came as close to smiling as I had yet seen him. "I assume that is what you were concerned about?"

I nodded.

"Sensible girl," he said. "Tell me, what do I look like to you?"

I looked him up and down. His black hair, clearly accustomed to being kept firmly down, was beginning to rebel, albeit so timidly that it still stuck together in sharp spikes. His eyes, equally black, lurked deep in his face, their emotions hidden in the shadows. His cheeks were long, his chin pointed and masked by a trowel-shaped beard. If I had to describe him in one word, I would say "threatening": his features all pointed forward, his eyes crouching behind them like a sniper lining up his sights. He was tense, ready to strike at any moment. You could not feel at ease around him. And yet – even though he did not smile, I could sense a kind of warmth in him, a bond of sympathy towards me that I felt all the more confident about because it did not concern itself with outward appearances. And I smiled; I knew at last how to answer his question.

"To be honest," I said, "you remind me of Strider, in the inn at Bree."

He threw his head back and laughed long and hard.

"Strider?" he said. "Well, there are worse things you could have said about me, and you wouldn't be lying. But I don't go about carrying broken weapons. If anyone breaks one of my babies, I toss it aside and pick up a good one. And then go and waste the jackass who did it."

He tapped his fingers confidently on the table, and I smiled back at him. "I'm sure you would, Kasai-san," I said. I took a deep breath. "All right. I'll come and stay at your place with you."

He nodded. "Good. Let's get going, then. The less time you spend out in the open, the better."

"Right." I lifted myself up, and politely waited for him and Karen to rise. I was in a daze, and stumbled a little but managed to steady myself. I couldn't help thinking – what would my parents say if they knew I intended to hide out in an apartment belonging to a man I had only just met?

_Well, Mother, would you rather I did nothing and just let Oyashiro-sama's curse kill me?_

I saw again for a moment the look of fear in her eyes as I lunged forward to strike her. She was holding out her arm to cover her heart – except that, I suddenly remembered, her hand was turned outwards, as if reaching out to me. I looked up at her eyes again. They were deep and hollow, but they were turned towards me, fixed on me. And at last I understood. She had not been frightened _of_ me, but frightened _for_ me, afraid of what I was doing to myself.

_What did you see then, Mother? What was in those hollow eyes when you looked towards me? Some ghost from your own past, perhaps? Did you know – did you understand only too well what I was about to do? And – if you saw me now, would you judge what I am doing now in the same way?_

I shook my head. There was no point in dwelling on these questions. I had to make my own decisions, and I had made my decision now. Kasai had risen, and he nodded towards me, indicating that he was ready. Silently, I bowed in acknowledgement and followed them out of the café.

* * *

><p>We walked to the apartment; Kasai seemed to know without my having to say so that I did not want to go in his car. The journey took only ten minutes, and we did not talk. When we reached the building, Kasai showed me over my rooms and gave me a set of keys; there was a door connecting directly to the main landing as well as one to the lounge of Kasai's rooms, and both had chains as well as locks. The rooms were small and sparsely furnished, but they were all I needed – the bedroom, a bathroom, a little kitchen, and a lounge with a very old television set. Karen brought in a spare set of bedclothes, and offered to help make the bed, but I said I would do it alone.<p>

The bedroom was square, with a soft purple carpet, green-blue walls, and darker green-blue curtains. As well as the mattress, it contained a dressing-table and a desk and chair, but that still left a wide space in the middle. Shion had removed most of her personal effects, and only a few photos on the desk remained to show that the room had once been hers. I lay on the bed, exhausted, and studied them. A group of friends – I had seen them all in her photo album, and could now identify them at once. Mion and Shion; Satoshi and Satoko; Rika and Okamura; and Naoya's sister Rena. There was also another boy in many of the pictures, although he seemed to wear girls' clothes a lot of the time. He was about the same age as the twins and Rena, and had brown hair and a rather endearing goofy smile. How odd. I would have to ask Akito who he was – if I ever went back.

_Damn._ I could feel a tear coming on, and I didn't want this. I couldn't go back and I knew that I couldn't; there was no point in thinking about it. Besides, in two weeks now it would be July, and I would go back home to Kyoto and would never have to think about Hinamizawa or the Sonozaki family again. So – why did I feel a kind of nostalgic pang in looking at these pictures? I wasn't sure. Perhaps just because they reminded me of having fun with my own friends back in Kyoto; I hadn't seen them for three weeks now. But it didn't feel that way. In truth, my life had been so full recently that I had barely given a thought to my old friends. Perhaps it was just a sense of loneliness, knowing that in coming here I had committed myself to being on my own for three days, longer than I ever had before. Well, there was certainly something in that. But I've always looked forward to being alone at every chance I got, enjoyed every minute and wished it could last longer. Why should I shy away from it now?

I shook my head. I would just have to get on with things. With one last look at the photos, I walked away and unlocked the door.

The others were waiting outside. "Is everything all right?" said Kasai.

"Fine," I said. "But... I'll need nightclothes, toothpaste and so on."

"Give me a list of what you need and I'll go shopping for you," said Karen. "And then we'll have to think about dinner. What sort of thing would you like?"

I flushed with embarrassment. "You don't have to treat me to dinner..."

"Nonsense. You're our guest. And besides, you can't get dinner by yourself here in Okinomiya. Not if you want to stay hidden."

I sighed. She did have a point, after all.

"I'll have to repay you when this is all over..."

Karen stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder and gazed down at me.

"You mustn't even think about it, child," she said. "I'm a Sonozaki, remember? My father is one of the richest men in the prefecture. In fact..." She grimaced.

"What is it, Karen-san?"

She crouched a little so her eyes were on a level with mine. Her expression was earnest and determined. "I don't think this is coincidence," she said. "Someone trying to kill you, and what happened in Angel Mort this morning. And if there's any way that by helping you, we can help to bring those monsters to justice – then we will be the ones in your debt."

I shivered. Her face was tightly drawn, and her eyes seemed to be focused on something standing where I was that wasn't me. She, too, gave the impression that you could never feel wholly safe around her. For the moment she was calm, but she was breathing heavily to maintain it, and her left hand fondled some object to keep her mind occupied – wait a second, was that a _shuriken_? I quickly looked back up at her face so as not to seem like I was staring at it.

She smiled. "So don't bother thinking about payment, Miaka-chan," she said. "We'll look after you, just as if you were our own daughter. All right?"

"All right," I said. There was a moment of awkward silence. "I'll go and draw up that list for you, then..."

She nodded. "I'll wait out here."

I went back into the apartment and closed the door behind me, and then returned to the bedroom, seeing it for the first time all set up and ready for me to stay there. I looked around, and then went over to the mattress and sat down heavily. This was it; I had to take it in now, accept what I had decided to do. I was going to be spending the next four nights in an unknown city, in an apartment belonging to a man who is clearly a retired yakuza, looked after by a woman who carries shuriken in her pockets. Both of whom are closely connected to the people I am trying to hide from. And did I mention that I still had no clear plan of action, beyond the vague notion of seeing what effect my disappearance had? Except that I wasn't even sure I knew how I was going to manage that, now that I was holed up in Okinomiya.

Oh well. I suppose it's an adventure.


	7. Part I Ch 6 Espionage

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**6  
>Espionage<strong>

The next morning, I was awakened very early when the clouds split apart and sent a burst of sunlight blasting through the curtain. I blinked, and climbed out of bed at once, surprising myself by how easy I found it. I was not tired at all; I must have had a very good sleep. (Though it did help that I had gone to bed early; I'd been exhausted after yesterday and had had nothing else to do.) The light, filtered by the soft colours of the room, was cool and refreshing, and at this time of morning, the sound of traffic outside was nothing more than a soft and fitful whirr.

Karen had brought round a couple of books together with the shopping the night before, so I opened one and tried to read; but I could not concentrate on the words. I was in a much bigger adventure now than any of these! Words and scenes kept running through my mind: the message from the newspaper, Naoya quarrelling with Akito as he forced its significance on us, my embarrassment in the café on learning Karen's identity, her look of fierce determination as she fondled the shuriken. There was so much that I still did not understand, but at least from here, from safety, it felt almost as if I was looking from the outside on an adventure happening to someone else. I was excited rather than frightened; perhaps it was the effect of the bright morning sunlight after a good sleep, but I felt a sense of renewed confidence. I would _not_ give in and die! I would defeat my enemies, whoever they were!

There was a knock on the door – very gentle, as if the person just wanted to check whether I was awake yet or not. I ran over to open the door, and found Karen smiling down at me.

"Ready for breakfast?" she said. She was carrying a tray laden with containers of steaming food.

"Sure, come in!" I bowed to thank her, and set about making tea for both of us while Karen set the dishes on the table.

I blinked in surprise when I tasted the okayu. "This is really good! Thank you so much!"

"You should thank Kasai-san; he cooked it."

"Really, I'd never have guessed!" I couldn't help laughing as the image came into my mind of Kasai, dark Kasai with that solid face and cold expression of his, wearing an apron and oven gloves. "Where is Kasai-san now?"

"In Hinamizawa, of course. He's trying to find out whether your disappearance has been noticed yet, and what everyone's doing about it."

I nodded. "Karen-san," I said slowly, "I feel guilty for making you both go to so much trouble over me..."

"Like I said, you mustn't even think about it," she said, with the same fierce determination as before. "There's absolutely nothing more important right now than ensuring your safety. But what about you? Have you decided how you're going to spend the day?"

"Yes," I said. "Karen-san, I... you may not like this, but I have to go back to Hinamizawa." I paused, sipped my tea, and studied her face. She just blinked and looked at me expressionlessly, so I went on: "I know you and Kasai-san are doing everything you can, but I can't let you do it all. I just can't stay cooped up here waiting for news all the time; I'd go mad. I want to be part of this with you. I have to try to find out who's trying to kill me – and why – and what we can do about it."

There was a long silence, and then her face gleamed with a broad grin. "I like your attitude, kid," she said. "Well, Kasai's probably going to be furious when he hears, but for my part I agree with you. So let's see about getting you kitted up and ready to go."

When we had finished eating, we went together into the bathroom, and I sat in front of the basin while she dressed my hair. It took a while, but I was patient; I was still sorting things through in my mind and trying to work out how everything fitted together.

"There, how does that look?" she said at last.

I looked up. It was as though a stranger was staring back at me from the surface of the mirror: her hair was midnight black, and done up in odango, a style I had never even attempted before. This exposed more of my cheeks, making them seem a different shape from what I was used to: my nose and chin somehow appeared to be more prominent. My blue eyes were still the same, but honestly, who looks closely enough to identify someone by a pair of eyes?

I tilted my head to look at myself from as many angles as I could. Now that I was over the initial shock, I could see enough of what I used to look like to be sure that it really was the same me. Anyone who knew me well would have recognised me; but I felt there was a good chance that the Hinamizawans, who had only known me for two weeks, would be fooled. Not that I intended to put that guess to the test; but that feeling certainly helped to boost my confidence.

"Thank you," I said with a broad grin. "It's great."

"You're sure? If I had gorgeous red hair like yours, I'd be devastated to lose it..."

"It does feel weird, but the main thing is that I look different." I turned away from the mirror and glanced at it sideways so that I could see myself in profile. "Wow, it's incredible."

She gave a relieved smile. "I take it you've never dyed it before, then?"

"Yeah. My parents wouldn't let me, even if I wanted to." I stretched my aching shoulders and lifted myself up. "How about you, Karen-san? If you like red hair so much, have you ever thought of dyeing yours?"

Her mouth turned slightly down at the corners. "I tried it, once," she said quietly. "But... let's just say that someone told me he prefers it the way it is." She sighed and looked away, and I decided it was best not to ask any further.

At last my hair was dry, and I was dressed in a blouse that Karen said she had borrowed from the waitress, Aya. It was white with purple fringes, and, well, it was just more _girly_ than anything I was in the habit of wearing. And I mean that in a good way: it was an excellent addition to my disguise.

When I returned from changing, Karen was checking the messages on her phone. "That's interesting," she said. "According to Kasai, they haven't noticed you're gone yet."

"What!" I cried. "That's not possible! ... Oh, wait, I left the door locked." I frowned as I tried to work this out. "Maybe Irie-sensei thinks I'm still in there sulking. But what about when he called to ask whether I was ready for school?"

"What time does he normally do that?"

I glanced at the clock above the oven. "Is it really still that early? Well, that might explain it." I turned back to Karen, breathing heavily with excitement. "Karen-san, I've got to be there to see what happens when he calls!"

"We'd better move fast, then," she said. "By the way, Miaka-chan..."

"Yes?"

She winked at me. "It's Karen-_chan_ from now on. We're comrades."

* * *

><p>And so, very soon afterwards, we were in Karen's car driving back towards Hinamizawa. She clearly knew the place well: long before we were near the clinic, she turned off onto a side road that ended up taking us to a small clearing, hidden among the pine trees, just behind the back wall of the clinic. We crept through the trees together, stopping once the building came in sight to check that there was no-one around. Karen pointed to an upper-floor window, easily reachable from the fire escape.<p>

"Kasai-san left that window open for us. Let's run for it – _now_!"

We ran for it, keeping our heads low and our feet quiet. No-one came into sight, and less than a minute later we had ascended the fire escape and entered the window. This brought us to what seemed to be an operation room; medical equipment lay ready to be called into service, but it had not been used for some time. Karen went over and listened by the door, then opened it slowly and peeked out into the corridor beyond. "No-one's around," she whispered. "Over here!"

I followed her out into the corridor, and looked all the way down it to the door of the room I was supposedly occupying. There was still no sign of anyone, and no sound of footsteps, so Irie was not yet on his way to wake me up. We had arrived in time. We slipped along the corridor in the other direction as silently as we could, until we came to the landing. From here, I began to hear voices coming from the reception area below us. I glanced at Karen to ask whether she could hear them too, and she nodded. We crept together along the landing in the direction away from the stairs, so that if anyone came up, we could continue to observe without having to move. We faded back behind the cover of a doorway, and kept utterly still. Kneeling on the floor, I peered down through the railings to the open area in front of the clinic's main entrance, and waited. It was not long before Irie came into my view, followed by the person he was talking with. I drew in a sharp breath. It was Naoya.

"And you're quite sure Miaka-chan knows nothing about this?" was the first thing Naoya said.

I held my breath; I had to be utterly silent so as not to miss a single word. _Knows nothing about what? You don't mean – the plot to kill me? But... if he's talking about this with Irie-sensei, does that mean Irie is part of it?_

Irie smiled, damn him!

"She couldn't possibly suspect," he said breezily. "She's only been in Hinamizawa for two weeks. Why should she know anything – unless you've told her too much?"

_He really is..._

"Oh, no," Naoya said quickly. "That is, we told her about the series of deaths – but she'd have heard all that sooner or later anyway. We didn't even mention Maebara Keiichi."

I turned my eyes towards Karen. She was gazing towards Naoya and Irie with the same intense concentration; she gave no sign of recognising the name Naoya mentioned.

"That's good," said Irie. "We don't want to give her too much to think about at the moment; she has enough on her mind as it is, with the Hinamizawa Syndrome and everything."

Naoya grimaced. "Do you think she still has the Hinamizawa Syndrome, doctor?"

"It's impossible to tell. The medicine I gave her should have eradicated the parasite that causes the Syndrome, but one can't ever be completely certain. That's why we have to make sure that Miaka-san isn't put under any unnecessary stress. That would be no good for our plans at all."

I was utterly still, taking slow, heavy breaths as I stared at them; and next to me, I could sense that Karen was tensing up. _Irie-sensei_, of all people! I'd had no suspicion of him at all. Looks like I got away only just in time!

"Indeed," said Naoya; and there was a long silence. "How are you going to do it?"

"Oh, that won't be difficult," said Irie. "I have the advantage of being a doctor, after all. All I have to say is that I need to do a blood test, and she'll have no reason to be suspicious of that."

_That's what you think, you treacherous snake!_ I clenched my fists around the railings so tightly that it hurt. How _dare_ he take advantage of me like this! I had trusted him completely; I'd let him give me a place to stay; I'd eaten with him! I would _never_ let anyone fool me like that again.

Naoya was, as usual, frowning. "I hope you're right," he said. "The thing I'm most worried about is what would happen if her adoptive parents found out about this too soon."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," said Irie. "Who would tell them? I can absolutely guarantee that right now, the only people who know about this are you, me and Sonozaki Mion-san."

I blinked. _Did he say... Mion?_

I didn't know Mion all that well, so I can't pretend it was a huge shock, though it was certainly a surprise. But Karen started and gave a sound like a strangled gasp. It sounded so loud in that silent moment that I felt sure she would give us away. I reached out and held her hand, clasping it tightly, and then slowly forced myself to look back towards Irie and Naoya. They had just started to walk up the stairs together, and were still focused closely on each other. They hadn't heard.

"Do you think we're doing the right thing, doctor?" Naoya said after a while.

Irie frowned. "I don't see what else we can do," he said. "We just have to make absolutely sure no-one finds out about it, that's all. But I have to do everything in my power to prevent the spread of the Syndrome. It would be a huge weight off my mind if I didn't have to worry about the possibility of an outbreak in Kyoto any more."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. _That__ is why you're planning to kill me? You think there will be a danger of an outbreak when I go back home?_ I gulped; no matter how I tried to fight them back, tears were rising in my eyes. _You don't have to kill me for that! You could just ask me to stay here for another month – however long it took! I'd be willing, honestly I would!_

_And why would he think there would be a danger? He must know that I'm not really cured..._

_Does that mean... are they right? Maybe it is better if I'm dead!_

I gazed straight ahead at nothing, remembering now only too clearly the fear in Mother's eyes as she saw what I was turning into. If that was going to happen again... I could end up hurting anyone, my mother, any of my friends! I clutched my throat, which felt suddenly as though it had been set on fire. No! This was nonsense! I wouldn't let that happen; I could be strong! I forced myself to look back at Naoya and Irie.

_See? I __know__ those two are plotting to kill me, and I'm not getting into a blind rage. I can still think about this rationally. I'm not going to panic; I'm not going to jump out and attack them. I'll just wait here until they've gone, and then – well, I'm not sure. Go to the police, perhaps. Yes, I think it may be time for that. But whatever I decide to do, it will be because I've thought it through logically and made sure it really is what I want to do. I am not going to go mad...  
><em>

I was still holding onto Karen's hand. I felt her grip tighten, and I looked up at her. She was wearing that same expression of wide-eyed sorrow as back in the café when she had first asked me to trust her. I smiled back; her touch was comforting, reminding me that whatever happened, I would still have something I could hold on to.

Naoya and Irie had reached the top of the stairs, and they walked rapidly along the corridor towards my room. Irie knocked, and then called out my name; there was of course no response. They waited a short while and then tried again; this time Naoya added his voice to Irie's. Still no response.

Irie tried the handle. "Locked on the inside," he said. "I'm getting worried about this."

"She looked in a bad way at school yesterday," said Naoya. "Doctor, you don't think –"

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Go and fetch Chiaki-san."

Watanabe Chiaki was the nurse: a small woman, fast in speech and fast in movement, she had a habit of sliding into position so rapidly that one wondered if a video game controller was operating her. By the time Naoya returned, she had already arrived ahead of him, been instructed by Irie to go round to the side of the building and look in through my window, and departed again.

And she was back only a minute or so later. "The window's open, curtains are open, I couldn't see whether there was anyone inside."

"Do you think she's run away?" said Naoya.

"I don't know, but I don't like this," said Irie. "We've got to get inside the room. If she's not there, she may have left some clue behind. We _have_ to find her. Chiaki-san, fetch the ladder." She disappeared at once, and Irie and Naoya hurried after her.

"That's our cue to leave," Karen whispered. "Miaka-chan... are you okay?"

I lifted myself unsteadily to my feet. I could feel my eyes burning, but the tears had evaporated, leaving only a ring of smouldering fire.

"I... I'm just shaken," I said. "Karen-chan, did they really say..."

"Yes, they did," she said grimly. "Come on, we've got to get out of here."

I nodded, and allowed her to pull me away. She led me back to the room we had entered by, and looked out the window first to make sure the coast was clear. Irie and Naoya would go round the front of the building to reach my window, so we were not in danger of running into them. Still, we had to be careful, as they might just be able to hear us.

"Karen-chan?" I said quietly. "Shouldn't we stay a bit longer – find out what they do when they discover I'm missing?"

"We know exactly what they'll do." She didn't even look back as she secured the window and climbed outside. I hastily followed. "They'll tell the Sonozaki family, get them to search for you, make the whole thing look legitimate. Oh, and that's going to be a problem for us."

"What do you mean?"

"Kasai and I will both get called in to help with the search." We were outside, and she was rapidly composing a text message. "No, don't worry – I promise neither of us will give you away. But we'll have to act fast. If they organise us into search teams, we won't be able to move around so freely – especially not with you."

We kept down and scuttled back to the car – I couldn't help turning my head every few seconds to make absolutely sure no-one was watching. But it was still very early, and there was no-one around except for us and Irie's group, and they were hidden from sight around the side of the building. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as we made it to the cover of the trees, and back to the car. Kasai was waiting for us, strutting about in front of the car with his hands in his pockets.

"Kasai-san!" Karen cried, jumping up and throwing herself towards him; he turned and caught her in his arms. "It's all true," she sobbed as she looked up at him. "They really are planning to kill Miaka... and Irie is in on it!"

"_Irie?_" Kasai said sharply. "Are you sure?"

"We overheard them talking about it. Irie and that boy – what was his name?"

"Ryuuguu Naoya," I said.

Karen nodded fervently. "They said Irie was going to pretend he needed to do a blood test, so I imagine the plan was to inject Miaka with a poisoned needle or something – and they said it was necessary to do this to prevent the spread of Hinamizawa Syndrome."

Kasai frowned and started to pace about. "Doesn't sound at all like Irie," he said. "When he was researching the Syndrome, the one thing he refused to do was sacrifice lives."

"You don't believe us?" said Karen. "Kasai-san, I saw them with my own eyes!"

He rounded on her, and she instinctively faded back, and I jumped forward to support her. "Karen-chan," he growled, "it doesn't matter whether I believe you or not..."

"Yes it does! Kasai-san, this is important!"

I couldn't say anything. I was still in a state of shock, Irie's words repeating over and over in my mind. He said he had eliminated the parasite from me, but he also thought I still had the Syndrome anyway. Could it be true? How could I know for sure? Was I really doing the right thing, trying to escape? What if I ended up having an attack and hurting someone? I thought I could feel sure I was not going mad, but how could I _know_? The questions just whirled round and round me, a haze that made everything dim and blurry...

"No, it _doesn't_," he said firmly. "Look. I don't know what exactly you heard them say, or whether you may have mistaken what they said..."

"I swear I didn't! You ask Miaka-chan, she'll tell you the same! Go on, she's there, ask her!"

Kasai sighed deeply. "Listen to me, Karen-chan. I'm trying to say that it _doesn't matter_ whether you were mistaken or not. Not from my point of view, at any rate. I may not believe that Irie is plotting to kill Miaka, but we're going to have to treat him as a suspect, all the same."

"You do believe that we _could_ be right, then?" Karen sounded almost desperate.

Kasai sighed. "Like I said, I know Irie, and this doesn't sound like him. Still, there may be more to this than you've found out so far."

It was a strain even to keep listening. The world was out of focus; sound and sight melted into each other.

"Like what?"

"Well, if Irie has a different motive for wanting to kill Miaka, he may have said that about the Hinamizawa Syndrome in order to get the Ryuuguu kid to go along with his plan. Did you think of that?"

She screwed up her face. "No, I didn't."

I blinked and looked up.

"So it's _not_ true?" I said quickly. "I'm _not_ in danger of another attack?"

Kasai turned towards me with a flat expression, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Listen, kid," he said. "I don't know, all right? Irie's the only person who really understands the Hinamizawa Syndrome..."

"Yes, but I can't go and ask him for answers!"

Kasai closed his eyes and sighed again. "Kid, _I know that_. So are you going to stop snapping at me? We're still in the realm of guesswork at the moment. We need more evidence."

"Can't we go to the police?" I said. "Karen-chan will back me up..."

"We can't," said Karen. "Kasai-san... there's more." She was very tense, her face drawn and rigid. "Irie-sensei said... he said that Mion was also in on the plot."

Kasai swung round. "Impossible!"

She shook her head. "There's no question. He quite clearly said Sonozaki Mion."

"But why?" Kasai held out one hand and thumped it with the other fist. "That's absurd! Why on earth would Mion-san want to kill you?"

We stood glaring at each other for a moment; my heart was pounding. _He's good friends with the twins; Karen said so. Does that mean... he will think that if Mion wants to kill me, it must be for a good reason?_

"Perhaps for the same reason – Irie's persuaded her that it's necessary to prevent the spread of the Syndrome," I said timidly. I gulped. It was increasingly difficult to force the words out, but I had to go on. "If the Syndrome really is as terrible as Rika-san said... then wouldn't they be right? Better to kill one person than to let many people die..."

In no time at all, Karen had her arm around me and was pressing me tightly against her. "You mustn't think like that, Miaka-chan," she said. "No-one's going to die. You're not a danger to anyone. This... this is all some nonsense Irie's made up, for whatever reason is beyond me."

I stepped gently away from her. I was glad to have her support, but I could stand up by myself; I didn't need to be held like that. "But I'm right, aren't I?" I said. "If Irie used that line of argument, then even someone like Mion-san could be persuaded that..." The words were sticking in my throat again. "That it's necessary to kill me..."

"I'm afraid I think you are right," Karen said faintly. "This is really bad – much worse than I'd thought. We can't go to the police; they're too close to the Sonozaki family. What can we do, Kasai-san?"

_Good question..._

"Let's get back to Okinomiya," said Kasai. "There's someone I want to talk to."

"Who's that?" I said, quickly looking round at him. _You don't mean you're going to turn me in, do you?_

"What we need right now," Kasai said, drumming his fingers on the car roof, "is a sleuth."

"A sleuth?" I gazed at him in surprise. "You mean – like in detective stories? I thought they were only in fiction!"

"Not quite like that," said Kasai. He did not smile, but his eyes lit up all the same. "No, this man isn't even a professional amateur sleuth, if you understand me – I mean that he doesn't make a living from it. But he's a very clever and cunning investigator, all the same. He'll follow a scent like a bloodhound until he gets to the bottom of a mystery."

_Oh..._ I felt a little more cheerful. If Kasai knew someone like that, and if we could get him to help us, then maybe we could defeat our enemies after all! "Who is he, this sleuth of yours?"

"His name is Tomitake Jirou."

"_Tomitake-san?_" I cried. "But... I've met him! He showed me round the village on my first day here. He's a friend of Irie-sensei!" _I knew it! Why did I think I could trust this man?_

"Yes, he is, but he's our best bet, all the same. I worked with him twenty years ago when we uncovered the organisation called 'Tokyo' who were plotting to unleash the Hinamizawa Syndrome. I bet he didn't tell you this, but it's thanks to his skill that the organisation were unmasked and their bosses ended up in jail. Well, all except for that idiot Nomura woman." He shook his head and scowled. "She tried to burn down the clinic to destroy evidence, and then tried to kill Shion-chan to make her escape. You can imagine how that ended. Shion-chan got away; Nomura did not."

I tapped my foot with impatience; all this seemed to me to be beside the point. "But if he's a friend of Irie-sensei, then are you sure we can trust him?"

"Quite sure." He sighed. "Look, I still don't understand this and I still find it difficult to accept that Irie is at the back of some deep scheme –"

"Kasai-san...," Karen said in a warning tone.

"Look, I'm only saying. I don't know what to believe about Irie, but I have to accept that I could be wrong and he could be guilty, so I'll do everything I can to keep Miaka safe from him until we find out for certain. And Tomitake-san will take the same attitude, I promise you."

_But does he mean that? Should I trust him or not? How can I tell?_

"I really hope you're right," I said.

Karen looked towards me, and I looked back at her. She flattened out her hand and wrapped it around me so that I fitted snugly in her grasp. "Remember, you're safe with us," she said.

I breathed deeply and forced myself to smile. _Safe._ I didn't feel particularly safe; but knowing that she wanted me to feel safe was reassuring in itself. _Thank you, Karen-chan. I'm glad to know I have one person I can trust..._

She didn't need me to say anything. The rhythm of my breathing was enough. She held me and we stood together in silence for a long time.

* * *

><p>We drove together to the Hotel Moderato, where Tomitake was staying. I recognised the name as the same one Aya had mentioned the day before, so I was decidedly nervous as we walked across the lobby to the reception desk. "Just keep calm," I kept whispering to myself, "be natural." After all, no-one here knew me by sight; I was disguised, so even if a description had gone out, I would not be recognised; and even if the hotel was owned by a Sonozaki, it was very unlikely that we would meet him. He probably owned a dozen other hotels and restaurants in the area.<p>

"We're here to visit Tomitake Jirou," Kasai said to the receptionist.

"Can I have your names?"

"Kasai Tatsuyoshi, Sonozaki Karen, Ishida Haruka." He winked at me, and I understood that this was to be my undercover alias.

She nodded. "Just wait a second, please." She picked up a phone and held it to her ear for half a minute, frowning, then replaced it. "Sorry, he's not picking up the phone. He may be out."

"Can I have his room number, please? I'll just go up and slip a note under the door..."

"Certainly. You want room 358."

Kasai thanked her, and she looked away, evidently regarding us as of no further interest. I breathed a sigh of relief, as quietly as I could.

We went up the stairs in silence; Kasai's expression was grim and I didn't have the courage to ask him whether something was wrong.

Kasai's knock on the door resounded through the air like thunder. "Tomitake!" he called. "Tomitake Jirou! Are you in there?"

Silence.

"Perhaps he really has gone out...," Karen said timidly.

"The devil he has," said Kasai. "He's never out of bed at this time of the morning." He took out his phone and dialled a number.

The absolute silence that followed was broken by the unmistakable sound of a phone ringing, coming from inside the room. It went on ringing for what must have been nearly a minute, until Kasai finally silenced the call by snapping his own phone shut.

He turned back to us with a solemn frown. "Well, that's that," he said.


	8. Part I Ch 7 Evidence

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**7  
>Evidence<strong>

"What are we going to do?" I whispered.

Kasai grunted and bent down to examine the lock. I shared an anxious glance with Karen. I felt horribly queasy; ever since we left the clinic I'd been moving on autopilot, propelled onwards by knowing that we had a plan, that we were doing something about the situation. To have that taken away so suddenly – it was like seeing a rockfall come into view in the road ahead, and having to screech to a halt to avoid running right into it. Oh, there would be a way around it and onwards; I wasn't panicking just yet; but still, it was hard to have to adjust so suddenly when I didn't understand _why_ this obstacle was here. Tomitake wasn't in his room, but he hadn't gone out. Surely – the enemy couldn't have gotten to him first? No – how could they even have known we were going to consult him? Did they just think we _might_ because he and Kasai were close friends – or, more likely, had they been spying on us at the clinic? I didn't like to admit it, but that _was_ a possibility. We hadn't been nearly careful enough. And if the enemy had overheard us, got here before us and made Tomitake disappear – were they here _now_, watching us?

I looked anxiously around. I couldn't see anyone; but I couldn't shake off a sense that there was someone watching us from _somewhere_, keeping just out of sight. I slipped into Karen's shadow so that my face couldn't be seen from the window. That was better, but I still felt exposed. There was the corridor and the stairs, and I couldn't keep an eye on both at once. I settled for twitching round every couple of seconds. Kasai was crouching by the door, concentrating intently as he fiddled with some object in the lock. Karen stood still, except for her left hand, which first tentatively touched my shoulder, and then gradually slid down until she was clasping my hand with a firm grip. I could feel that she was shivering, but I couldn't look round to give her a reassuring smile. Time passed.

We remained in silence. I was increasingly uneasy the longer we stayed here, but I knew it was what we had to do. We _had_ to know for certain whether they had got Tomitake or not. If they had, then, just as Irie had said about me not long before, there might be some clues in the room as to where he had gone. It was true that Tomitake hadn't done anything to help us yet; but that was no way to think about things. If there was any possibility that he had been removed to facilitate the plot against me, then it was our duty to do everything we could to find out what had become of him.

After a few minutes, the lock finally clicked open, and we all hurried inside. The room was small and crowded; clothes and books and bags were strewn messily around. Tomitake was not there; that much was obvious at a glance. Kasai breathed a deep sigh of relief, and I realised with a sudden pang that while I had been thinking only about finding Tomitake so that we could use his help, Kasai had been worried that we might find him dead.

We stood together and looked around. The curtains were closed, but enough sunlight still came through to give us a pretty clear view of the room. The bed was neatly made, making a rather ghoulish contrast with the general mess; it was far too neat to be Tomitake's work, so the chambermaid must have come in and made it, giving no thought at all to what had happened to him. His phone lay abandoned on the desk between a map of the Hinamizawa area, some notebooks and a camera. Kasai picked it up and tapped rapidly on the buttons.

"He hasn't opened any messages since yesterday. Obvious deduction, he disappeared at the Watanagashi festival, or at least, never came back to the hotel afterwards."

"But wouldn't he have had his phone with him at the festival?" said Karen.

"Huh, good point," said Kasai. "Still... he must have just left it behind. The only alternative is that he was abducted from this room, but that seems unlikely..." He frowned thoughtfully.

"How do you know he went to the festival?" I said.

"Tomitake _always_ came to stay here in June to photograph the festival."

Kasai turned away, continuing to slowly scan the room, and I stood still as a sudden shiver ran through me. Tomitake had been at the festival, and disappeared! _He_ was the other victim! I had been quite wrong when I thought it had to be someone living in Hinamizawa for it to count. Still – at least there was one thing I didn't have to worry about. If Tomitake had already disappeared by the time I learned about the football results, then at least it meant there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.

While Kasai was looking through Tomitake's messages, Karen and I began to search the room. I have to admit that, much as I love detective stories, I don't really know how I'm supposed to go about looking for clues, or what exactly it is I'm meant to be searching for. On the bedside table was a reading lamp, a few pocket-sized photograph albums, and a novel. From the position of the bookmark, I could deduce that (unless Tomitake was a speed-reader) he must have been in Hinamizawa for about two weeks: a very useful deduction, since I had known that anyway.

Karen opened the curtains to give us a bit more light, and then examined the windowsill and the desk, even looking round the back of the television set. I turned my attention to the rucksack that sat against the wall close by the bed. It contained a few crumpled plastic bags, dirty with breadcrumbs: so Tomitake had been walking a good deal and had taken sandwiches. An interesting fact, but it hardly seemed significant. There was also a compass, a sketch pad with several pages torn out, and a couple of small metal implements that I pulled out and held up to the light to get a closer look at them.

Kasai glanced up. "That's a wire-cutter, and a pair of lock-picks," he said. "Tomitake's very skilled at picking locks – he has just the right fingers for it."

"And since these were in the same bag as the remains of his sandwiches, that suggests he was going on lengthy expeditions that involved picking locks, or at least he expected to be using these," I said. "What's all that about?"

"Maybe he was investigating some mystery in Hinamizawa," said Karen.

"Why in Hinamizawa?" I said.

"Look at this map. You see the ring here, where he rested his coffee cup? He was holding it open at this page."

I looked over the map. The page in question was in the south-east of the village, an area whose main feature was the Sonozaki estate, as well as a portion of the woods behind it.

"The Sonozaki family," I said thoughtfully, glancing at Kasai to make sure he was not listening too closely. "It always seems to keep coming back to them... I'm sorry, Karen-chan."

Her face was grim. "I don't like this," she said. "There's definitely _something_ going on there. Once we've got you to safety, I think I'll go and have a few words with Aunt Akane. That woman needs to be a lot more clued up about the things that go on in her own house; I've always said so. It was all right when Oryou-sama was in charge, but she's past ninety and bedridden now." She shook her head and turned round. "Hey, Kasai-san!"

"Yes?"

"When did you last see Shion?"

He put Tomitake's phone down and frowned. "Three days ago, the day before Watanagashi. She roped me and Hikaru in to help with setting up the shrine."

I thought back to that day – how long ago it seemed now! I didn't remember seeing Kasai there, but of course, I wouldn't have noticed him as I hadn't known him then. I certainly remembered one of the Sonozaki sisters bustling around and organising everyone; it was hard to forget such a presence. _So that was Shion, and not Mion... I wonder where Mion was that day, then? Isn't it odd that she took no part in organising the village's biggest annual event, especially when her twin was playing such an important role? Perhaps she was already organising Tomitake's disappearance, using Shion as her alibi!_

"How did she look?" said Karen.

"Look?" Kasai was baffled.

"Did she seem to be well? In good spirits?"

"Better than ever. What on earth are you driving at?"

Karen began to pace around in a small circle. "Oh, Shion's had something on her mind lately," she said. "Haven't you noticed? She's been moody and ill-tempered, not at all like her normal self."

"She hasn't been like that at all!" Kasai retorted. "You must be thinking of Mion."

Karen faced him with hands on her hips. "I should think I know how to tell the difference between Mion and Shion, if anyone does!"

Kasai just blinked. "And I think _I_ should know how to tell the difference between Mion and Shion, if anyone does."

I looked back and forth from one of them to the other, more baffled than ever. It sounded to me like _neither_ of them could distinguish between the twins as well as they thought they could. And in that case, how could I rely on their judgement? Maybe it _was_ Mion who had something on her mind... something like the Hinamizawa Syndrome and the necessity of getting rid of me, perhaps? But such vague impressions were not evidence, even if they did give me something to think about. I needed something more solid!

Karen and Kasai were glowering at each other, so I decided this would be a good moment to change the subject.

"Did you find anything in the messages?" I asked Kasai.

Kasai opened them up again. "Mostly just his family and friends in Tokushima," he said. "The only ones from people in Hinamizawa are from before the festival. Irie, arranging a time and place to meet up. Rika-sama apologises for not being there and hopes he enjoys Kizuna's dance. Shion-chan says she looks forward to seeing him and suggests he drop by the house to say hi to Mion-san."

"Wait," I said. I was thinking frantically, now trying to remember as much as I could of the Watanagashi festival itself. Shion, judging by her message, must have been there. And again, I remembered seeing one of the twins, but not the other. Of course, that did not necessarily mean that the other one had stayed home. Still, it was again odd that they hadn't been together.

"What is it?" said Kasai.

"How do we know Tomitake-san attended the festival?" I said. "I mean, I know he _intended_ to, but what if he disappeared beforehand? Can we get anyone to confirm whether they actually saw him there? I know I didn't – of course, I wasn't looking for him because I didn't know he was going to be there; but don't you think it's a bit odd that he didn't look for me and come and say hello to me?"

"Good point," said Kasai. "I'll have to ask Shion-chan about that."

I took a deep breath. Kasai wasn't going to like this, but I had to say it. "She... she might not tell you the truth," I whispered.

He scowled and his eyes darkened, as if there was no life in them at all. "What do you mean?"

"Well... just supposing he did disappear before the festival... I know you don't believe this, but Irie did say that Mion-san was part of the plot." I found myself hurrying the words, making sure he didn't have time to interrupt. "So what if Shion-san sent that message to get him to visit the Sonozaki house, and it was _there_ that he disappeared?"

He stepped closer; his shadow covered me. "What are you trying to imply?"

Karen stepped forward and put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I think Miaka-chan is trying to say that maybe the twins are involved in this together," she said. "No, don't get angry, Kasai darling. We have to keep an open mind. It _could_ be true. I didn't want to admit it either, but it _is_ looking more and more likely that one of them at least is involved in some way..."

Kasai's expression grew grimmer and grimmer throughout this, until his face was stretched into a grimace so tight that it could go no further. "I won't have it!" he snapped. "How _dare_ you suspect Shion? Yes, she was a bit of a wild child, but look how she turned out! She's the most honest, caring and hardworking soul you could hope to find! The children all love her! _I_ love her – and I won't have you defiling her name by associating her with... with murder..."

"Kasai, stop it, you're frightening the kid," said Karen.

I looked away, idly picking up the camera and wandering over to the window with it to get a better look at it. She was right, he did frighten me when he got angry like that; but I wasn't going to show it.

There was a long silence. At last I said, "You know, _someone_ must have made Tomitake disappear. And whoever it was, I bet they were popular and well-liked. You don't think murderers go round in dark jackets and sunglasses so that everyone knows who they are, do you?"

Kasai growled, but Karen put her hand on his shoulder, and he took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, okay, I take your point," he said. "I suppose, from your point of view, I see why you suspect the twins, but I wish you wouldn't. I've known them all their lives, I tell you, and I can promise you they wouldn't do something like this!"

I sighed and looked back towards him. What I said next – I didn't even mean to say it, but somehow it was out before I could help myself. "My mother would have said the same about me once."

His eyes opened wide in surprise. "What do you..."

Karen shook her head. "Anything interesting about the camera, Miaka-chan?"

I held it up. "It's not the same one he had on him when we went up to the dam site. That was a digital one, and this one's film. Also, the film compartment is empty."

Kasai nodded. His voice was calm again. "That's one of Tomitake's cameras all right. I know it well; he's had it for years. The digital camera you saw would be his latest toy, the Olympus E-1."

"And where's that?" said Karen, looking again in all directions.

"I don't see it. Help me look through his luggage."

I set the camera down, and the three of us looked all around the room together. We looked everywhere that Tomitake might conceivably have left his bags: Kasai opened the wardrobe, I looked under the bed, and Karen rooted around in all the cupboards.

"Laptop case," said Kasai, dragging it out of the wardrobe. "Empty."

"There's definitely no digital camera here," said Karen. "Did he have it on him, or did they steal it from the room?"

"Well, someone's been in here who wasn't Tomitake," said Kasai. "If he took the laptop anywhere, he'd have taken it in its case. And I can't find any memory cards. They've all been taken."

The three of us all looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Why would they do that?" said Karen.

"Something in his pictures that they didn't want anyone to find?" said Kasai. "Look at this bag. They've even cut open the lining, just in case he was hiding anything in there."

I shivered. So, we knew for certain that the enemy had got into the room. And that meant that either they had indeed killed or kidnapped Tomitake, or else he had seen them coming and fled. Either way, they were close on our tracks. Too close. I no longer felt that they were still here, but all the same, there was a kind of _presence_ in the room that made me very uneasy. Tomitake had thought he was safe here, and he might as well have vanished into thin air. We couldn't afford to make the same mistake.

"But why cut the lining?" said Karen. "Why not just take the bag?"

"Because the hotel staff would notice something was wrong if all his luggage suddenly disappeared. This way, if we hadn't happened to come along, he might not have been reported missing for several more days."

Karen nodded. "Well, are we finished here?"

"I think so. The police will take it from here. Let's just put everything back as we found it, or we might find ourselves facing a few awkward questions."

Karen and I agreed, and between us we did our best to put the room back in order. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. Kasai locked up, and we went together to a café that stood opposite the hotel – not the Old Oak, which was round the corner.

"What now?" said Karen. "Is it time to call the police?"

"Not quite. There's one more lead I want to follow up on, and then we have to get Miaka-chan back to the apartment." He took out his phone and dialled a number.

"Hello, Kumiko-san?" he said. "It's Kasai. Listen, do you know where Jirou-san is, what he's doing today? No, it's nothing serious, I was just looking for him so I could give back some money I borrowed, and I was surprised he's not at the hotel, he's not normally such an early riser." There was a long pause as he listened, frowning, to the voice on the other end. "No?" he said at last. "Thank you."

We both looked at him questioningly.

"Tomitake's fiancée in Tokushima," he said. "She hasn't heard from him since the night before Watanagashi. He told her he was following a trail, and would be out of contact for a few days, just in case anyone tried to trace his calls."

"That pretty much settles, it, then," I said. "There definitely _is_ something going on, and it sounds like Tomitake had to disappear because they were worried he was getting too close to the truth."

"I hope your call isn't going to make Kumiko-san start worrying about him," said Karen.

Kasai grimaced. "I hate having to lie to her, but what else was I supposed to say?" He sighed. "Oh well. She'll know the truth soon enough."

There was a sombre silence, broken by the ringing of Kasai's phone.

"Kumiko again," he said before he pressed the connect button. "Hello? Yes... what's that?" He listened for a while, his eyelids rising with a look of surprise. "Thank you. No, I don't know what he meant by that, but thanks for letting me know."

He put the phone back and looked steadily at us. "Her exact words: 'I don't know whether this helps at all, but I just remembered that Jirou said he thought he was close to finding out the truth about Hinamizawa Syndrome.' Now, what on earth can he have meant?"

I said nothing. The shadows really were closing in now. The truth about Hinamizawa Syndrome? Perhaps this was something to do with why Irie thought I was still in danger after he had eradicated the virus. If that was what Tomitake meant, then anyone who had had the Syndrome in the past might also be in danger of succumbing again to its symptoms! And if that was true... _there_ was a secret that people really might kill in order to protect. I looked up at Kasai and Karen, wondering whether they were following the same train of thought, wondering whether I should share it with them. But I couldn't. They were my refuge now. If I made _them_ suspect that looking after me would be dangerous...

Kasai's phone rang again.

"Hello?" he said as he accepted the call. "He... Shion-chan? Yes... I'm in Okinomiya right now. What's that? ... _No! ..._ All right, I'll look out for her. What does she look like?"

I looked up sharply. _They were talking about me!_ Well – it was bound to happen, as Karen had said. Irie had communicated with the Sonozakis, and now they were setting the wheels in motion, repurposing all their machinery in order to find me. _But you won't get me! I won't give in that easily!_

"All right, thank you," Kasai was saying, drumming his fingers impatiently on the table as he spoke. "Yes, I promise I will." He sighed. "Yes, Shion-chan, _I understand_... all right, I'll do everything I can. Now listen, can I ask you something? ... Okay, have you seen Tomitake-san recently? Say, at the Watanagashi festival, or since then?" He waited patiently, eyes raised as he listened to whatever Shion was saying, and then let out an even deeper sigh. "Yes, Shion-chan, I _know_ it's important, but listen, Tomitake is also important! ... All right, thank you." He put his phone back, then looked at us grimly.

"Looks like that's it. The entire clan has been mobilised to look for you, Miaka-chan. I've bought us some time by agreeing to watch for you at the Okinomiya bus stop, but I'll have to report to Yoshirou-san at lunchtime, and from then on it won't be so easy for us to meet up."

"What are we going to do?" I said. My heart was pounding; I knew Kasai and Karen were on my side and would do everything they could, but still, what _could_ they do, what could we do against the entire Sonozaki family?

"Get you back to the apartment, first of all, and _you stay there_. Karen gave you enough food?"

"Yes."

"Good. They won't expect me to keep a twenty-four-hour watch, so I'll be back in the evening. You must not leave the apartment _for any reason whatever_ until I'm back, you got that?"

"I got it," I said. "Um... Kasai-san, what did Shion say about Tomitake-san?"

"She said she didn't see him at the festival – she hasn't seen him this summer at all."

"Ah." I didn't know what else to say; after everything we had found out, the exact time of Tomitake's disappearance didn't seem to matter very much any more. The main thing was to find out why he'd been investigating the Sonozaki estate, what was on his memory cards that the enemy wanted so badly, and what this truth about Hinamizawa Syndrome was that he said he was close to finding. _I have to know. If they're going to try to kill me over this, I bloody well want to know what it is!_

"Any second now," Karen said quietly. Sure enough, her phone beeped, and she opened it up to read the message. "It's Dad. I'm summoned to a family meeting in Shishibone, no doubt to discuss strategies for looking for you, Miaka-chan. You'll be all right with Kasai-san, won't you?"

I nodded; although as Karen rushed away, I looked at Kasai a little apprehensively. We were asking him to work against the family who had employed him all his life, and I could tell that he had been badly shaken by Shion's call. I remembered how angry he had been when I dared to suspect her. And he may not have been angry in the same way that I suspected Mion and Irie, but it was clear that he still did not believe me about them.

I gazed at Kasai, wondering what he was thinking right now; as always, his dark eyes gave no clue. Apart from that one moment when we first burst into the room and found it empty, he had remained so stoical, even though it was his friend who was missing. Perhaps he had lost many friends, in his time as a yakuza, and was used to keeping his emotions hidden. _Still, I want to know what you're thinking. That Irie would not have hurt his friend? That Mion and Shion would never agree to kill an innocent person? That I must be crazy for thinking otherwise? Damn it, I have to know what you think about me! If we're going to get anywhere with this, we have to trust each other!_

Kasai didn't seem even to notice that I was studying him. "Let's go," he said.

We put our coats back on and walked back to the apartment in stony silence. I felt disgruntled. Certainly, I understood that there was nothing else we could do; but still, it irked me to think that I had to stay cooped up in a small apartment for the rest of the day, and perhaps for two more days as well. I knew it would not be long before I was itching to stretch my legs again, and nothing I could find to occupy my time would satisfy me.

And – what then? What would happen afterwards? I shuddered. This had all become far more serious than I could ever have imagined; I could hardly just go back to Hinamizawa as if nothing had happened! Everyone would want to know where I had been – and what on earth was I supposed to tell them? Besides, I couldn't go back and stay in the clinic again, now that I knew Irie was part of the plot. But if they suspected that I knew that, then they really would try and silence me, whether it was past the date on the newspaper or not.

I sighed, clenching my fists as I repeated to myself: _don't panic, just look for a way out_. The twenty-first would be Saturday, and my parents would be coming to visit me again. Maybe, just maybe, if I could hold out until then, I could intercept them before they spoke to Irie, get them to take me home. Then I would be safe, and I could find a way to let Akito and the others know I was still alive. But –

I glanced behind me in the direction of the Moderato. All right, if Tomitake had disappeared _before_ we decided to consult him, then he hadn't been removed just to stop us joining forces, and I felt a bit better about that. Still, his disappearance and the plot to kill me _had_ to be connected! If I just walked away now, they would have gotten away with it. And – one person dies and one person disappears. Yes, the ones who disappeared were probably killed, I was under no illusions about that. But Satoshi proved that that wasn't necessarily the case. Tomitake might still be alive! And if that were so... I _had_ to stay. I _had_ to try to find him. I couldn't leave it to the police, not if they were as close to the Sonozakis as Naoya had said. They probably wouldn't even bother to look for him.

I breathed deeply, faced unswervingly ahead of me, and nodded. I felt much calmer now that I had accepted my task. To be sure, I wouldn't be able to do much from the confines of the apartment – though staying alive in spite of the enemy's efforts was something in itself; hopefully I would be disrupting their plans and forcing them to take risks. But also, it seemed likely I wouldn't have to stay locked up for all three days. Once the first excitement of the search had died down, they might still keep watch, but they would start to relax their vigilance once they thought they had missed me. I would be able to sneak back to Hinamizawa, and maybe do a bit of investigating for myself. Well, someone had to – and Kasai and Karen were going to be occupied with pretending to look for me. I smiled; it was good to know that I had a plan of action, that I could still do _something_.

* * *

><p>By the time we got back to the apartment, I was exhausted and looking forward to a good lie-down. So much had happened, first at the clinic and then in Tomitake's room, that I'd barely had a chance to notice how tired I was getting; but now, being so close to my bed and yet still having to cross the final short distance, I felt it so intensely that the popular expression about the bed calling to me no longer seemed so silly. I said a quick goodbye to Kasai, slid over to the bedroom and threw the door open.<p>

I froze.

Sticking out of the pillow was the handle of a dagger! I choked, stifling a shriek that tried to burst out of me. I rushed over to it and tugged it out – with some difficulty, for it had been driven right through the pillow and into the bed underneath. Had someone tried to kill me, thinking I was still in bed? No – I remembered the bright sunlight that had woken me up. No-one could have failed to notice that the bed was empty. Still, it was an unmistakable threat. _We know where you are; we can put another knife in the same place any time we like._ I looked round, all over, even up and down. There was no-one in here now; they had gone.

_How do you know? You didn't see them at the clinic, and yet they were there. You didn't see them in Tomitake's room, but they must have got in. You don't see them now, but that dagger didn't get there by itself! They could be here, right now; I can't be sure! I've got to get out!_

I hurtled out of the room and back into the corridor. Kasai had unlocked his own door and was just about to enter. "_Kasai!_" I screamed.

He looked round, and then his eyes moved down as he saw the knife in my hand. His expression became cold and stiff.

"Kasai, what's this?" I cried.

"Oryou-sama's kaiken! How did you get that?"

"It was in my pillow!" I stood, shaking, and glared up at him. I was scared, terrified, but I had to hold myself together. I had a knife, after all.

"Which of you was it?" I snarled. "You or Karen? Which of you betrayed me? Who told the Sonozakis where to find me?"

"Miaka-chan... neither of us, I promise... we wouldn't..."

"_It's a lie!_" I screeched.

He stepped forward. His footstep echoed coldly down the corridor. "Miaka..." His hand reached out towards me.

It was instinct; I couldn't help myself. I'm a girl, and he's a man. A strange man. He'd pretended to be my friend. I'd gone along with him, but part of me knew all along I couldn't trust him. He was Irie's friend, and too close to the Sonozakis; he'd never really intended to hide me from them. He meant to keep me imprisoned. His arm was coming towards me. And he was huge, much stronger than me, and if I once let him get a firm hold of me... I slashed downwards, striking him over the knee. It wasn't a serious wound, but he wasn't going to catch up with me on that leg.

I was running. I don't know where I found the energy, but somehow I managed to run, and I kept running until I was out of the building and out of sight around the corner. Kasai was shrieking after me, whether in pain or in anger I did not know; I barely heard him. I stopped and fell back against a wall, panting for breath. The knife was still in my hand, sticky with blood. At least there was no-one around. I carefully wiped it on the inside of my blouse. Not perfect, and carrying this through the streets would be suspicious in any case. But I wasn't going to let go of it; it was my only protection now. I had to get out, away from Okinomiya, into the countryside, as fast as possible. My direction had been chosen for me; having come this far, it was best just to keep going. I definitely wasn't going to go back anywhere near Kasai's rooms. I took a deep breath, lifted myself up, and started to walk.


	9. Part I Ch 8 Prophet and Loss

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**8  
>Prophet and Loss<strong>

I yawned and tilted my head up, letting the light invigorate me until I felt strong enough to move. My back itched from rubbing against the rough ground, but it was not altogether an unpleasant sensation. It reminded me at once that I was outdoors, high in the hills, free of any confines except for the vast, billowing canopy of the sky. The world had awakened and was telling me that it was alive: it was speaking in its own language, a multitude of sounds you only hear when you are a long way away from human voices. In this new place there were many sounds I had never heard before, but I could feel what they were saying all the same. I had spent the last two days running madly from the fear of death, and I had allowed myself to forget what it meant to be alive. How can I put it? It means to let time touch you without letting it wound you; to sway to its rhythm as a tree sways in the wind. Out here, the trees and rocks knew nothing of the hectic pace of the human world; being among them gave me a wonderful sense of being at peace with time, a sense of freedom, of escape.

Escape! The word brought back all too clearly what I had gone through to get here. I had fled from Okinomiya, slithering through the crowded streets as rapidly as I could, hardly daring to look up and remind myself that there were people all around me and that any one of them might stop me at any moment and ask why I was holding myself so awkwardly, what the object was that I was so evidently concealing under the folds of my blouse. Fortunately, no-one did stop me, and just by sticking to the same direction, it was not long before I was away from the city and into the hills. I kept going until I was a long way past the last houses and felt I would be as safe there as I would be anywhere, and then I settled down on a patch of grass and allowed myself to fall asleep.

Now, I lifted myself up and looked around. It was late afternoon descending into evening, and the cicadas were warming up for their nightly chorus. Coming from deeper into the woods, I could hear the cries of birds and the rustling of squirrels scampering through the undergrowth. I listened for a long time, but I heard nothing that sounded like human noises. Good: I was safe for now. But I had to press on. There was no doubt that the police would search the countryside as well as the roads; they would take a while to find me in such a large area, but I would not be safe for ever. I had to get myself under cover.

I took a moment to get my bearings, and then moved on. I knew exactly where I was going. There was only one place I could hide, one place the Sonozaki family would never think to look for me, and that was Sonozaki Manor itself. It would be the perfect hiding-place; it was large, and although many servants lived there as well as the family, at any one time there were still more rooms empty than not. It would also provide a ready-made solution to the problem of food: I would live like Bilbo in the Elvenking's palace, invisible in the shadows, sneaking what I could get a little at a time. Besides, all the mysteries seemed to revolve around the Sonozaki family; they were close to the centre of everything that went on in Hinamizawa, I felt sure. So, where better to begin my investigations than the family stronghold?

I went on at a rapid pace as the forest closed around me. Hinamizawa was twenty kilometres to the east of Okinomiya, but I was heading south-east, aiming to go round in a curve and so avoid getting too close to the road. The day was cooling rapidly, and I almost felt I was enjoying myself, in spite of the danger. This was a real adventure, after all!

I'm a pretty good direction-finder, and I was pleased but not altogether surprised when, some time later, I saw the dam site come into view ahead of me. I didn't follow the main path back to the village, but instead scrambled over the abandoned construction, dodging a wooden cart full of stones that lay off to one side half-hidden by weeds, and down the hillside, aiming for the slopes behind the Furude Shrine. From there, it would be easy to slip through the woods and approach the Sonozaki estate from the south without having to pass through the village.

I was still fairly high up and had a good view of the village below me, and as I drew closer, I could see that some sort of commotion seemed to be going on at the shrine. Some of the festival lights had been relit, and they illuminated the gathering of a large crowd in the courtyard. I slipped towards the outer buildings, and then paused to consider the best method of approach. I would have to get much closer than this to see what was going on, but I could hardly go down into the shrine precinct!

No, there was only one thing to be done. To one side of the shrine precinct was a smaller building called the Saiguden, a kind of storage shed. No-one was allowed to enter except for Rika-sama, so I would not have to worry about meeting anyone. And I knew I could get in; the triangular roof concealed a small attic room, and Saki had shown me how one could climb up the back wall and get in through a window she always left open. The attic would make the ideal place to see from without being seen.

I hurried forward; I didn't want to miss any more than I had to. I slipped around to the back of the building. The wooden wall was irregular, and easy enough to get a grip on and haul myself up. The window eased further open at my touch, just enough for me to creep inside. The room beyond, painted a dull blue by the evening light, was narrow and crowded. The wooden floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the ceiling hung low and draped cobwebs over it. At the sides of the room were long benches holding a variety of wooden and metal tools. I wasn't looking too closely at these, but I could not help noticing them as I tiptoed my way past them: long-fingered rakes, all manner of vices and pincers, and some contraptions with sharp, curling spikes like a bird's talons. What on earth could those be used for?

To get close to the window, I had to move aside a large hoe. I gripped it tightly, and _thought_ I was holding it steady; but then a slight metallic clinking sound came from above my head, and I looked up and saw a spiked ball gently stirring on a shelf. I must have disturbed it somehow... I pressed my feet tightly into the floor, and nudged the hoe along as gently as I could. Something rattled. I glanced behind me, and saw a cage hanging from the ceiling and slowly swinging back and forth. I sighed. Caution was all very well, but I had to get to the window! I pushed the hoe sharply aside. At once there was a loud creak, and one of the shelves started to sway. I hastily grabbed it in case the whole shelf were to come down; as I did so, something fell off the other end, too far for me to see what it was. There was a hollow boom as it struck the floor, followed immediately by a loud, resounding snap. I held my breath and huddled in the darkness for a long while; but there was no change in the voices from outside, so it seemed they had not heard anything. I went over to the window, opened it very slightly, and crouched below it and watched and listened.

In the courtyard between the Saiguden and the other shrine buildings, a large crowd had gathered in a circle; in the centre, Rika and Yanagida were facing each other. Rika, standing awkwardly with her round belly, leant on her husband for support, while Satoko and Azusa stood together on one side of her, the Sonozaki twins on the other. Kizuna looked very small indeed as she huddled in the folds of her mother's robe. Yanagida, for his part, was supported only by his long and knobbly walking-stick, and backed up by a row of younger men in indigo priestly robes.

"How can you deny it?" Yanagida snarled, raising his voice so that everyone could hear. "The curse of Oyashiro-sama has struck again! Tomitake Jirou and Teramachi Miaka..."

"This is nonsense!" Akito called out. He was standing in the front row of the crowd, his hand resting tenderly on Kotone's shoulder. She leant in close to him, quietly sobbing. "Miaka-chan had done nothing to anger Oyashiro-sama!"

I felt a surge of relief. If Akito was taking the opposing side, that _had_ to mean he had no involvement in the plot, didn't it?

Yanagida turned towards him, his face contorted into a snarl. "What do you know of such things, boy?" he said, "Oyashiro-sama sees all! Who knows what crimes she committed before she came here? Oyashiro-sama does not want such a person dirtying the air of Hinamizawa!"

"Who are you to talk about what Oyashiro-sama wants in that way?" Shion cried out.

"Shion-chan..." Rika reached across and put a hand on Shion's wrist.

"Who am I?" Yanagida repeated. "I am the true prophet of Oyashiro-sama – the only true prophet! Too long the people of Hinamizawa have listened to this false prophet, Furude Rika! Your hour is striking at last. Oyashiro-sama has rejected you!"

"What bullcrap...," Mion snarled.

Yanagida turned round to address the crowd. "Do you not see?" he said. "Because we have let in this false prophet, because we have let her pretend to speak for our god, the curse of Oyashiro-sama has fallen upon us again! We must show him our true repentance! We must cast out the false prophet!"

Cries and shouts were rising from the crowd, but I could not make out what they were saying, whether they were agreeing with Yanagida or were outraged at him. For some reason, I found my eyes focusing on Kotone as she stood, hiding her face in her brother's T-shirt as though she could not bear to watch what was going on. I felt as if my throat was trying to cave in. This was all happening because I had disappeared! It was my fault that Kotone was suffering so much... and yet, honestly, what choice had I had? If I had not fled, they would just have gotten rid of me, made me disappear, and the result would have been the same. This was the fulfilment of their plan!

Rika's voice, when it came at last, was not loud, but her tone was clear and decisive. "Oyashiro-sama is a gentle, loving god, and it is not her way to put a curse on innocent people," she said. "I spoke with Miaka-san on her first day in Hinamizawa, and I am satisfied that she repented her sins and that Oyashiro-sama has forgiven her."

I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing a deep sense of gratitude to permeate my heart. Rika was still prepared to support me! True, I didn't know if she would still say Oyashiro-sama had forgiven me if she knew I had not disappeared but was just hiding, that I was here _right now_ and could rebuff Yanagida's claims but chose to remain hidden, and that I was trespassing in the Saiguden on top of all that. But she was putting herself at risk by taking my side, and I could not help admiring her courage and simple honesty.

"What sins?" someone called out from near the back of the crowd. "Tell us!"

Rika's face was firm, but not angry. "It is not for me to divulge another person's sins," she said.

"Then why has she disappeared?" said one of the priests next to Yanagida. "How do you explain that?"

"And Tomitake!" someone else called out. "Both of them right after the festival, just the same as before!"

"Please be calm, everyone," said Rika, holding out one hand in a gesture of conciliation. "This is worrying news, but we must not jump to conclusions. They might still be found..."

"Then where are they?" someone shouted. "People don't just vanish into thin air!"

"I don't know," Rika said quietly. "But we must not give up hope."

No-one spoke out loud for a while, but the crowd were muttering noisily to each other.

"_You promised us the curse was over!_" someone right at the back suddenly screamed. "We trusted you! You fed us on false hope all these years! _You lied to us!_"

This was followed by more shouts; the crowd now seemed to be mostly in agreement.

Shion must have finally snapped. She dived into the crowd, pushing them aside as she tried to get to the person who had screamed out.

There was immediate commotion, and for a minute or so I had no clear idea of what was going on. People were pushing and shoving each other, their cries building up like ripples swelling into a big wave. Shion was thrown roughly back, and landed with a bump on the ground. Someone tried to lash out at her, but one of Yanagida's acolytes held him back.

"Let me get at him!" Shion cried. "Uncultured, ungrateful... to talk like that about Rika-chan..."

"_Please_, everyone," Yanagida said with surprising fierceness. The rest of his priests had formed a line, holding the crowd back.

He stepped up onto a bench; he was so short that it was quite a shock to see him towering above the villagers, holding his walking-stick high in the air like a thunderbolt about to descend on them.

"Please, let's be reasonable!" he said. "This matter concerns Furude-san and myself, and the behaviour of her friends is not the point at issue – though maybe she could take a bit more care in whom she chooses to associate with."

"Why, you!" Mion snarled. I thought she was about to lunge at him, but Suguru held her back.

"So why have you brought along your lackeys to back you up?" said Satoko.

"They are not 'backing me up'," he said with an expansive wave of his hand. "They have come to listen to what Furude-san has to say in her defence." He turned to face Rika directly, and tapped his stick on the bench. "Furude-san."

She nodded.

"Would you swear to it, right now in front of these witnesses, that the curse of Oyashiro-sama is over and the villagers of Hinamizawa have nothing more to fear?"

After the earlier commotion, it was eerie how silent the crowd became as they waited for Rika to reply.

She looked up and stared Yanagida directly in the eye. "Yes," she said. "I swear it."

"Thank you," he said with a bow. "That's all I wanted to know."

He climbed slowly down from the bench, concentrating on his movements as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist around him, and then turned to address his followers. "It's time for us to go."

The crowd were still murmuring and jostling, but all of Yanagida's priests at once turned and started to leave. As they threaded their way through the crowd, the rest of the villagers must have realised that the event was over; still murmuring to each other in small groups, they dispersed and faded away. At last only Rika and her friends were left – Mion was fussing over Shion; Shion was shrugging her away, protesting that it took more than that to hurt a Sonozaki; Satoko was sobbing, and Rika had hobbled over and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

Kotone broke away from Akito and tugged on Rika's other sleeve. "Rika-sama?" she said. "Is... is Miaka-chan really... gone?"

Rika turned, and smiled down at Kotone and ran a finger through her hair. "Oh, you poor little child," she said. "No – don't worry, I'm sure she will turn up. She is a friend of Oyashiro-sama, and Oyashiro-sama doesn't allow her friends to be missing for long."

"She'll be found soon, don't worry," said Kizuna. "Promise me you won't worry, okay?"

Kotone looked gratefully at her friend. "I... I promise," she said.

I shrank back away from the window. This hurt so much. Kotone looked so sad, so vulnerable – I wanted so badly to reach out to her and be the one to comfort her! But I couldn't. Even if, later, I came upon her on her own, I could not reveal myself to her. It wasn't that I couldn't trust her – just that she was too young to understand what was really going on or why I needed to stay hidden. She would reveal me to Akito and the others at once! Even if I could somehow persuade her to keep my secret, they would certainly notice if she stopped crying over me. No, I had to harden my heart and keep up my resolve.

But before I slipped back to the window at the back of the room, I had to have just one more look outside. Akito now stood by himself, sullen, head turned downwards, arms overlapping in front of him. I studied him intently. I felt now that he was innocent, but I had to be sure. Even if I couldn't speak to him either, it would be such a comfort to me to know that I was right to believe in him! He was motionless, and I could sense that he was trying to mask some strong emotion he was feeling – but what emotion was it? Then I saw him glance towards Kotone and stretch out his hand, and at once I understood. He cared for his little sister more than anything else in the world! He would never join in a plot that he knew was going to end in hurting her. In that moment, knowing that we were sharing in our sympathy for Kotone, I felt a warmth that I do not remember feeling before.

But for now, I had to go, and I had to go at once. I had already lingered too long. Now, when everyone was at the shrine, would be the ideal opportunity to sneak into Sonozaki Manor. At least – I knew the twins were out, and so were Akito and Kotone. I hadn't seen Satoshi, who was presumably still at home. The twins' parents, Akane and Juntarou, were probably also at home, as well as Akane's mother Oryou, whom I remembered Karen describing as bedridden. So, while this might be the best chance I would get, it would still be ridden with danger, and I would have to be very careful.

I turned and surveyed my route to the exit. Sneaking out of the Saiguden would be much easier than sneaking in, mostly because I was less concerned with being stealthy. If someone heard a noise and went to investigate, so what? I would be long gone, and there would be nothing to say who had been there. Besides, only Rika-sama was allowed inside, and in her condition, she would not be able to ascend the ladder to the attic. So I just crouched low and scuttled forward. That swinging cage came lurching down towards me, and instinctively I lifted a hand to knock it aside. That was a mistake; my hand caught in it, and I was nearly dragged off balance. I shook my hand free, and the cage swung off on a tangent, hitting the wall with a horrible thud. The vibration echoed around the room. And then a scraping noise as something started to slide along a shelf. I didn't wait to see whether the whole room was about to come crashing down around me; I ran. I clambered through the window, pushed myself away from the wall, and landed with a thump on the grass. I looked quickly around. No-one was in sight. And a few seconds later I was scurrying through the trees, the Saiguden already invisible as they closed ranks behind me.

Sonozaki Manor was not far off, less than a kilometre. I stopped some way away, when I was still under the concealment of the trees, to survey the land in front of me. The first obstacle would be the fence – no doubt protected with barbed wire at the least, and possibly worse. Beyond this were the gardens, with a large pond in the centre, inky black in the twilight. There were no artificial lights in the garden; but the house had lights in a few windows, and those helped to make the garden seem darker by contrast. The house was too far inside the boundaries of the estate for very much light to come from the village; but the moon had been full the night before Watanagashi, and there was still rather too much of it for my liking.

Still, the first problem was to get past the fence. Best would be if I could avoid touching it altogether – and as I looked along the line of trees, I saw one with an overhanging branch that I thought I might be able to make use of.

I slipped over towards it. Yes, the tree looked easy enough to climb. I decided to take the risk, and hauled myself upwards until I had both knees on the branch. Carefully, I let go with my hands, so that the branch took my full weight. It creaked – it sounded so loud that I had to close my eyes for a moment and remind myself that there was no-one else close enough to hear it. Slowly, I crept out along the branch; it swayed, and began to bend downwards as I got further along, but it held. When I was just beyond the fence below me, I reached out, grabbed on tightly with both hands and swung myself down, then let go and landed with a crunch on my knees. I had scratched my hands a little, but nothing serious.

So far, so good. Next, I had to approach the building. I couldn't go near the pond; the moon squatted like a searchlight under the water, and would make me too visible. I had to go through the flowerbeds, but I would have to be careful to keep to the paved walk and so avoid leaving footprints. Even if they wouldn't be recognised as mine, I didn't want to let the Sonozakis know they had an uninvited visitor on the premises. The walk would bring me round to the side of the house, and there I would have another decision to make, as there was no possibility of climbing the side wall. Still, one thing at a time.

I crept forwards, keeping low. I had by now seen some of the guards – there were at least two patrolling the front lawn between the house and the main gate, and from time to time they turned right around and ran torch-beams over the grounds. If I kept in close to the flowerbeds, they would not be able to see me; but each junction in the path was an anxious moment as I had to break free from concealment for a few seconds. My heart was really pounding as I got closer to the building. I was committed now; it was easier to go on than to go back! I just prayed that the Sonozakis didn't keep a dog... though I'm sure that Akito would have mentioned it at some point if they had.

The flowerbeds came to an end, but the angle of the building would hide me from the guards at the front for the last few metres. I slipped up to the wall and paused, crouching in a ball with the hard stone behind me, to consider my next move. The wall above me offered no handholds, and there were no conveniently placed bins that might help me get up. So, I would have to go around the front or the back – but which? The back seemed more appealing – there was a shed close to the house, and if I could get onto the roof of the shed, the roof of the main building was within reach, and I might just get lucky and find an upper-floor window I could slip through. However, the shed was certain to have more guards, as well as other hazards. A family as wealthy as the Sonozakis would have motion sensors, closed-circuit television, the whole works. On the other hand, if I went round the front, I might be able to slip through the front door, or see if there was a side door I could reach. It was less hopeful, but I would have a bit less to explain if I were caught...

I shook my head. That was no way to think! I had to be more confident. I had to hold in my mind the thought: _I will not be caught_. I had come this far, even with the whole Sonozaki family trying to find me. I would show them; I would come through and win!

No, the back was the way for me, I was determined now. I crept around the building, keeping my head low and my body as tight against the wall as I could. The only sounds were the occasional bird-call and the perennial chirping of the cicadas, but they would not be not loud enough to cover my movements if I made any sound. I was soon close enough to hear that there was a guard at the back of the shed, walking in a steady pattern back and forth.

I looked around. There was just enough light for me to spot the security cameras, perched on poles at the corners of the shed and the main building. I tried to work out how much ground they covered, whether there was a way through them without being spotted. It looked impossible to get between the main building and the shed, but I might be able to run round the front of the shed... but then I would be directly in the line of sight of the guards near the main gate, if they happened to look towards me! Should I take a chance and run for it, or should I throw a stone over the building, hoping to make a noise so they looked the other way?

I took a deep breath and considered. I couldn't spend too long thinking; I had to decide! I decided to just run for it. But when? Best would be just after one of the guards had shone his torch past me. But the longer I waited for that to happen, the more chance there was that the guard behind the shed would come out a bit further and spot me! I shook my head, glanced anxiously behind me just to make sure that the guards were not looking towards me, and decided to run for it, right now.

I reached the front of the shed. I couldn't even look back to see whether I had been spotted; I just had to move as fast as I could. The quickest way up would be to lift myself onto the window frame; I would be highly visible, but hopefully only for a few seconds. If only I didn't slip! I took a deep breath, bit into my lip, and just jumped for it. It was easy enough to get onto the frame, but the gutter above overhung a little, and I had to hold on tight, swinging perilously, as I struggled to gain enough leverage to lift myself further. Pressing my toes into the window frame, I managed to swing my arm around so that it lay across the edge of the gutter; then I pushed downwards, easing myself up. The metal dug into my flesh, and although at first I could ignore it, as I pressed harder I found myself gasping with pain. But my head was over the level of the roof – I could lean into the wall, pressing the line between my shoulders against it to get as much lift as I could – and with a sudden final burst of effort I swung round, and my leg flew up and landed across the gutter, and I pressed against it and rolled my whole body over the edge and onto the roof. I had made it!

I lay there, still, for a whole minute; I had to be sure that my landing on the roof hadn't made too much noise! But there seemed to be no change in the movement of the guard below me, so if he had heard any sound at all, he must have dismissed it as just some night creature. And so, at last, I picked myself up and tiptoed slowly along for the last stage. The main building had a single-floor extension at the back, and it was not difficult to jump onto the roof of this from where I was. Now, at last, I was hidden from all the guards, and I could relax again!

I made my way carefully forwards – but not too slowly, as that would just increase the chance that someone would look out of a window and see me or something. I looked up at all the windows along the side of the building, looking for one that was open, even if only a crack. I found one near to the end of the roof, just when I was starting to worry that I wouldn't find one after all. I stopped outside it, holding myself tightly against the wall just in case, and listened. No sound came from the room at all.

Hardly daring to breathe, I pushed the window open and looked inside. The room seemed to be a bedroom: no light was on, but I could just make out a rich carpet, a wardrobe and a personal table. I couldn't see any bed, but it was probably in the corner I couldn't see.

I pushed the window a little further open; it creaked gently at my touch. There was still no sound from inside the room. Well, it seemed this was my best shot, so I quickly lifted myself up and jumped down into the room.

A quick glance confirmed that it was indeed a bedroom. The bed lay in the corner, with a quilt and everything in an untidy tangle. So, it was in use; and that meant the occupant might come back at any moment. I hurried over to the door and listened.

No good. I could hear footsteps in the corridor outside, coming closer. I would just have to wait, and hope the person didn't come into the room. Or could I hide myself even if they did? I looked quickly around. The wardrobe might serve. I hurried over to it, slipped inside, and pulled the door nearly shut. Then I leant close to the door and peeked out into the room, waiting to see if anyone came in.

The bed stood opposite the wardrobe and was right in the middle of my field of vision. I was not really looking at it – but I could hardly help noticing when the quilt suddenly turned over, and peeking out from its folds came something that looked at first like an enormous spider. But it was not a spider. As more and more of it appeared, I could see that it was a human hand, the fingers long and worn down into thin spines. The hand gripped the quilt and pulled it aside, and now at last I saw a head appear on the pillow. A head so creased and wrinkled that I knew at once that this could only be the ancient family matriarch, Sonozaki Oryou herself.


	10. Part I Ch 9 The Black Demon

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**9  
>The Black Demon<strong>

The door opened, and someone came in; from where I was, I could not see who. He was treading forward very quietly, not wanting to wake Oryou if she was asleep, I surmised. He stopped not far inside the room. "Oryou-sama," he said softly.

She turned her head slowly towards him. Her eyes, white and empty, barely moved.

"You're not Shion," she said – and her voice was slow and creaking, as though each sound had to be forced out against a wind that was pushing it back.

"I'm sorry. Shion went to a gathering at the shrine, I believe." I knew the man's voice now: it was Satoshi, Akito's father. "She asked me to come in and check on you."

"And?" said Oryou. "What will you tell her?"

"What would you like me to tell her?" Satoshi said patiently.

"Bah," Oryou spat out. She rolled gently over so that her head was turned upwards again, but she kept on moving it as though she just could not find a comfortable position. "It doesn't matter. If she's not going to come and see me... tell her what you like."

There was a soft thud as Satoshi knelt down on the floor. "Why won't you let me help you, Oryou-sama?" he said. "We both care about you – please believe me."

"Tell me this, Satoshi," she said. "What do you mean by caring about me? You know I'm not going to get any better... so what's the point?"

There was a long silence. At last Satoshi said, "I suppose we just want to help you be as comfortable as we can manage."

She grunted and turned over, now facing away from Satoshi.

"Are you all right, Oryou-sama?" he said.

She said something in reply that I could not make out. Satoshi evidently couldn't either, for he said, "What was that?"

"The Black Demon is coming," she said. "I hear his footstep... his cruel claws scratching the air... don't you see him? You're kneeling in his shadow..."

Another long silence. Finally, Satoshi desperately said, "Can I get you anything?"

"There's nothing you can do. Just go – make the most of the time you have left."

"I... I'm sorry you feel that way, Oryou-sama..."

"_Just go,_" she said, more forcefully but not angrily. "And when Shion gets back –"

"Yes?"

"Tell her to come and see me first thing tomorrow. I don't want to be disturbed tonight."

"Of course, as you wish, Oryou-sama." Satoshi climbed unsteadily to his feet, and went out of the room, leaving the door slightly open behind him.

I remained unmoving for a long time. I was waiting, giving Satoshi time to get a long way away, before I tried to sneak out of the room.

I was just wondering whether I had waited long enough when Oryou spoke. "You can come out of there, you know."

_She had seen me!_ Feeling like a prize idiot, I clambered out of the wardrobe and knelt before her in the middle of the floor.

"I beg your pardon, Oryou-sama."

She turned her head towards me, and I could not help shuddering. Never had I seen such a hideous wreckage of a human being. Her eyes, white globules, were like some kind of primaeval sea-creatures, hiding from predators in the ragged cliffs of her face. Her skin was folded so that her mouth hung permanently half-open, exposing a cracked lip and red-blotched toothless gum. She had little energy for movement, and most of it was used up in harsh spasms, as though she were being poked again and again with some sharp tool. She was breathing heavily and holding her head bent forwards, at such an unnatural angle that I was afraid her neck would snap at any moment.

"You're that girl that everyone's looking for," she said.

I sighed. Well, there seemed little point in pretending otherwise now. Perhaps I could still get this old woman to keep my secret – threaten her into silence... But even as I felt my hand straying towards the knife at my side, I shook my head and pulled it back. I couldn't do that!

"Teramachi Miaka, at your service," I said, bowing.

"I didn't ask for your name."

"Sorry," I said, fading back a little.

"So, you came here... because you knew they wouldn't think to look for you here. You're either very brave, or very stupid. Or perhaps both."

"I needed a place to hide," I said quietly.

"And you thought you'd find it here? You can't stay here, girl. The servants will find you."

"Isn't there anywhere in the Manor I could stay hidden?" I said. I don't know why it suddenly occurred to me to ask Oryou, of all people, for help; but I really did get the impression that she was at least sympathetic towards me.

"Not... _in_ the Manor," she said, with a low croak that sounded almost like a laugh. "But under it. Yes, there are tunnels down there..."

"Tunnels?" I said apprehensively.

"Yes, tunnels, child! You could stay hidden for a long time... you wouldn't be the only one."

I looked up sharply. "There are other people hiding in the tunnels?"

"Not _living_ people," she said; then she broke into a sort of rhythmic wheeze that I supposed was her equivalent of a chuckle. "Many secrets are down there. Secrets that the Sonozakis have hidden away over the years, and the bones of people left down there to die..."

"Where are these tunnels?"

She made a jerky movement with her arm, as though she was trying to illustrate her words, but her hand just fell limply back onto the quilt. "A bunker... at the back of the estate... locked... but if you could get this far, I'm sure..."

I nodded. "Thank you, Oryou-sama."

"Heh, you can thank me after you've spent the night down there. I hope you don't mind keeping company with ghosts and demons."

"The Black Demon?" I said softly.

She lurched and gave a horrible rasping cough. I looked up, wondering for a moment whether I should do something, but she subsided onto the bed again, and her head rocked back and forth before coming to rest. "You've been listening more than is good for you," she said at last. "An unhealthy habit to cultivate around the Sonozakis."

"I... I'm sorry, Oryou-sama!" I said. "I just didn't know what else to do! I didn't want Satoshi-san to come in and find me!"

"That doesn't mean you had to listen," she said sharply. "And Satoshi's a big softie. He never fully recovered. He wouldn't hurt you."

Something in her words caught my attention. She was old and feeble, but it was easy to tell that her mind was all there, just as active as it had ever been, if not more. And she had been one of the leaders of Hinamizawa. Who better to answer a few of my many questions?

"Oryou-sama?" I said hesitantly. "You're talking about the time Satoshi-san disappeared, aren't you? Do... do you know what happened to him?"

"Yes."

"And... and where was he?"

"In the basement of the Irie Clinic, being treated for Hinamizawa Syndrome."

"_What!_" I cried, flinching back. "But... but why has everyone kept this a secret?"

She glowered at me, looking angry for the first time; but her tone was more one of firm admonishment. "You're too young to understand."

"_I am not!_" I hissed, forgetting for a moment that I was talking to one of the elders of the village. "I don't know if Shion-san told you this, but the reason I'm in this village is that I contracted Hinamizawa Syndrome and nearly killed my parents! Just because you're old, you think being a teenager is all anime theme songs and wild parties? Well, I can tell you it's not like that – it sucks!"

There was a long silence. I slowly became aware, not just of Oryou in the bed in front of me, but also of the curtains rustling in the wind, the fact that I could now hear them again reminding me of how loud I had been. My heart pounded. What if one of the servants heard me and came rushing in to defend Oryou against the intruder?

"So," she wheezed at last, "you are sure you want to know?"

"_Yes_," I said defiantly.

She groaned and rolled over, still trying in vain to find a comfortable position. "The people of Hinamizawa need to trust Irie-sensei – just as they need to trust the Sonozaki and Furude families. If we allowed that trust to be damaged, we would lose our stability, and then where would we be?"

"So... so you just let Satoshi's disappearance be brushed under the rug?" I retorted. "Have you got any idea how much this secrecy is hurting Akito-kun?"

"He is young. He has not learned to trust yet."

"Who would trust you?" I snapped. "Why, you practically boast about the number of secrets you have!"

She came out with that odd wheezing chuckle again. "That, young girl, is why people know they can trust us. We do not pretend to be respectable."

"But – what if Satoshi-san had died? Would you have covered up his death just as lightly? Would it not _matter_ to you?"

"As I said," Oryou said coldly, "you are too young to understand. Still too much attached to life. When you are older... you will realise... the individual is not so important. What matters is to preserve stability."

"So you'd just have stood back and said nothing?" I growled. "And I suppose you'd be equally happy to watch them kill me, wouldn't you?"

Oryou placed a hand against her forehead and shivered; her breathing became so soft I could barely hear it. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. "Are you in pain, Oryou-sama?" I said.

She shook her head. "Child, if this is any comfort... it was not I who ordered your death."

"I know," I said. Somehow, I really knew that she would not say those words unless they were true. "But... do you know who it was?"

I held my breath. I don't know why I was expecting to get any answers from this old woman, but somehow – I got the feeling that she still knew most of what went on in the village.

"No," she said, sounding almost sorrowful. "Child... it's a long time since I had any part in the family's decisions. Now I'm just an old woman, left alone in a dark room to slowly die, with nothing to do except frighten any little girls who happen to drop in..."

"I'm _not_ frightened," I said, though I had to screw up my face to fight back the tears, not entirely successfully. "I just don't want to die. Even if it is necessary to 'preserve stability'! I may be only an individual, but my life still matters to me!"

There was silence for a moment. I remained glowering at Oryou, and she turned towards me, her face as always so lost in wrinkles that little expression could be read.

"Stand up," she said.

I stood and made a small bow.

"You don't need to bow – I'm just an old woman. Come closer, child."

I moved closer to the bed. Oryou sat still, except for an occasional tremble, and her fingers moved up and down in rhythm like the limbs of a puppet.

"So, you want to live," she said. "But tell me – can you really stand there and look at me and say that you want to grow old like this?"

I gulped. I knelt down by the bed, and – without even thinking about what I was doing – took Oryou's hand in mine. The fingers were tough and rigid, and very dry. "It must be hard for you," I said. "I hope you're not in too much pain?"

"Oh, the pain is the easy part," Oryou said, softly and even more slowly than before. "It's the regret... I've lived much too long. Who would have thought I would be the last one left? Kimiyoshi, Furude, Makino, Satou, even that rascal Houjou... wouldn't he smile if he could see me now? I feel stretched out... like I'm just living out the last year of my life, over and over again. Is this... the penance I must do... for my sins?"

I clasped her hand tightly. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" I said. I don't know what made me say it; I just realised then that she must be very lonely, even with her large family – they all had their own lives and their own troubles, and she was probably alone with her thoughts for most of the day. It was no wonder, really, that she seemed to find it so easy to talk to me.

"I would only make you hate me," she said, turning away. "That was my role in the village, to keep everyone united by giving them something to hate. Only Mion didn't hate me – until I made her hate me too." Her voice had taken on such a bitterness that I could almost taste it.

"I won't hate you, Oryou-sama," I said. "I promise."

"You would... if you knew what I really am."

"What did you do that's so terrible?" I said lightly. "It can't be worse than what I've done."

She started to wheeze again, and then took her hand from mine. Her arm draped limply over the side of the bed, making her look almost like a corpse.

"It... it was I who killed that boy," she whispered.

"Boy?" I said gently.

"That boy Mion was crazy about... I don't remember his name..."

"Maebara Keiichi?" The name I had heard Naoya mention. It was rather a wild guess, but I wanted to understand, to find some connections.

"That was it. Keiichi... I sacrificed him to the family pride. Always the worst enemy of the Sonozakis, the demon of pride... and I could only watch as, one by one, it killed all of my children..."

I shivered. Up to that point, I'd had no doubts about the old woman's sanity; she was so lucid that it was hard to imagine her words might fail to connect with reality. But this was just crazy!

"What do you mean, Oryou-sama?" I said. "Your children aren't dead!"

"Just... listen," she croaked.

I listened. Through the partly open door, I could hear the sound of piano music coming from somewhere in the house, probably downstairs. A slow and melancholy waltz – Chopin, I think. I smiled, and listened for a while, letting the music drift its gentle way under my skin.

"It's beautiful," I said. "Who is playing?"

"My daughter Akane... can you not hear? She plays as though it doesn't matter who hears her, for she is only playing for herself, sounds and feelings no-one else will ever understand. Only the dead play like that."

I caught my breath, and found myself trying to focus away from the music, but it was impossible: the notes kept stroking against my mind like waves lapping the shore.

"The Black Demon gets us all one way or another, in the end," said Oryou, so softly that I wondered if she was now talking to herself. "That is the fate of the Sonozakis."

"But... what is this demon?"

"_There_," Oryou said, lifting her hand slightly as if she intended to point; but her arm quavered when it reached the horizontal and then fell again. "Don't you see it, there, behind you?"

I glanced round, a little nervous in spite of myself. Then I laughed. "There's nothing there."

"No, you wouldn't see it... but it's there all the same. Always there, waiting for me, coming slowly closer. It won't be long now. The Demon will come for me, and when I am gone, the house of Sonozaki will fall. And the village too, most likely."

"What do you mean?"

Her mouth opened out into the ghost of a smile. "They can't get along without me, you know. The village was so afraid of me... even now, when I haven't left the house for years, as long as they _believe_ I'm still controlling things behind the scenes, they will fear the Sonozakis... Shion's too nice, and Mion is broken... when I'm gone, there will be no-one to hold them together..."

She shook; I think she was trying to cry. I looked anxiously up at her. Then, suddenly, I saw her head tilt back and her mouth fall open with a rasping gargle; her fingers began to flex as though she was drowning and struggling to grasp hold of something, anything. I stood up in alarm, but I didn't know what to do. She was staring forward, her eyes wide, her face frozen as if she saw something horrible in the empty air in front of her. Then she let out a high-pitched shriek, turned right over, and lay with her head buried in the quilt, breathing rapidly and heavily as her whole body trembled.

"Oryou-sama?" I said, leaning down and touching her arm. "Are you all right?"

I shot an anxious glance at the door behind me. What if one of the servants had heard her scream and came rushing in to see what was the matter? Should I run for it, get away from the room – or get outside, wait on the roof and hope the guards didn't see me? Then I looked back at Oryou. She was curled up tightly, still palpitating and clawing at the air. And I knew that I couldn't leave her.

I reached down and held her hand again. "Oryou-sama?" I said. "Do you need help? Is there anything I can get for you? Or... would you like me to fetch Satoshi-san, or Akane-san?"

_Did I really just say that?_

She turned her head up again; her mouth opened and closed as if she was trying to speak. I gripped her hand tightly. "It's all right," I said. "Take as much time as you need."

I waited.

"M... Miaka," she said at last.

"Yes?"

"Just go. There... never was anything... you could do..."

"I... well, all right, if you say so," I said, though my heart was heavy as I lifted myself up. This wasn't much like me, but somehow, I really wished I could do more to comfort this strange old woman.

I was about to walk towards the door when one last thought made me turn round. "Here," I said, bending down and holding out the dagger. "Oryou-sama, I believe this is yours."

She had, at least, stopped trembling now. She took the dagger and ran her hands over the hilt, without looking at it – and it was really only then that I realised that she was completely blind. A faint trace of a smile came to her face. She handed it back to me.

"Take it," she said. "You need it more than I do. If it helps you to feel safe, that might just stop you from doing something stupid."

I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but I certainly didn't want to argue with Oryou, so I took the dagger. I took a heavy breath as I looked down at her one last time.

"Oryou-sama," I said, "why are you helping me?"

She started to wheeze again. "Heh. Call it an old woman's fancy... but I hoped... maybe you might be the one to save Shion, in the end..."

"Save her from what?" I said, rather startled.

But Oryou said nothing more. She lay still now, and I wondered whether she had fallen asleep, exhausted after talking for so long, much more than she was used to. I still felt that I didn't like to leave her, but – Satoshi and Shion were her carers, and it was not my place to do anything more. I slid the door open just enough to creep out, and made my way on tiptoe out of the room.

* * *

><p>I slipped along the corridor and down the stairs, pausing at each junction to check whether anyone was ahead of me before I scurried on. But my luck held, all the way to the passage behind the hall in which Akane was still playing Chopin. Here I stopped to consider: there were too many doors, and I didn't know where to go! Should I perhaps go back up to Oryou and ask for more detailed directions? No... somehow, now that I had gotten away from her, I didn't want to go back unless I had to; and I didn't think this was <em>entirely<em> because she was old and needed her sleep.

I hurried on, and then saw on my left a single step leading to a passage with bare wooden walls. The contrast to the lavish décor of the rest of the Manor was so strong that I felt sure this must be the entrance to the servants' quarters. I remembered, on one occasion when the games club had visited the Sonozaki house in happier times, someone (Akane perhaps?) mentioning that the family had once employed many more servants than they did now. So this part of the house would be mostly empty; and I had the added advantage that the servants would not know me by sight. With renewed confidence, I took one last glance around me and set off down the passage.

A smell wafting through the air guided me to the kitchen, and I stopped. I _had_ to eat; I'd had nothing since Okinomiya! Well, it seemed no-one was around, so I slipped inside. The family had had duck with rice for dinner, and five plates were laid out for the latecomers. Five? The twins, Akito and Kotone... ah, presumably Satoshi was also waiting to have his together with his children. Someone might come in at any moment, but I would have to take that risk. I grabbed a spare plate and chopsticks and a serving-spoon and took a little from each portion, spreading out the remainder so that no-one would notice anything. _Sorry, Kotone... if I had any way of knowing which plate was yours I would spare it, honestly I would!_

There was a small pantry adjoining the kitchen, and I ate my food there, shovelling it down as quickly as I could manage. By the time I came out again, the other plates had gone. So, someone had come in... I had to admit that I was lucky he hadn't noticed anything amiss. Treading more cautiously, I looked around until I found the servants' bathroom. Once that was done, I _had_ to get outside as quickly as possible. I couldn't rely on my luck holding out any longer. Well, there was bound to be a separate entrance between the servants' quarters and the outside, so it was just a matter of following the passage to its end. The door at the end was on a latch and easily opened from the inside, so I let myself out and looked around me.

It was now deep into the night, but there was still enough light to give me an idea of my surroundings. I was at the back of the house, facing the hills; a long wing of the house stood to my left, and to my right, if I followed the building round I would reach the shed I had used to climb to Oryou's window. There were a few outbuildings visible from here, but only one small enough to match Oryou's description of it as a "bunker". I took a careful look around. I could not see any guards at the moment, but they could easily be lurking around the back of one of the buildings. I decided to approach the bunker by crawling through the grass. If only I weren't wearing this white blouse!

But nothing happened, and I heard no sound except for owls calling in the woods. The bunker was a small stone shed, overgrown with weeds and ivy, with only two windows, one on each side high up on the walls and far too small for even a child to fit through. The door, a heavy block of steel, was held shut only by the curved bar of a padlock – which, oddly enough, was _not_ attached to the base below. Why would anyone leave it like that? Surely, if one of the Sonozakis wished to leave the door open (and this seemed unlikely in itself) they would have removed the padlock entirely. So, it was most likely that the lock had either been picked or wrenched open –

_Tomitake? Had he been here?_

I removed the padlock and went inside. This was the entrance to the tunnels, sure enough! The shed contained a number of shelves, mostly bare; there were a few small items such as a pot of paint and brushes, but I did not pay these much attention. Right in front of me was a large trapdoor, lying open, and below it a flight of stairs leading down. The moonlight trickling through the windows illuminated the upper stairs, but they continued down into utter darkness.

I shuddered. This would not be easy. It wasn't the darkness I minded so much as the thought of descending into that narrow stairwell. I don't cope well with confined spaces like that; I need the open air around me; I need to know that whatever happens, I can still run away if I have to. And yes, I'd known this moment was coming, but that didn't make it any easier. I felt a sense of revulsion rising within me, an urge to just turn and run. But that wouldn't do at all. I had to face this; I hadn't come all this way and got past the entire Sonozaki family just to be defeated by a tunnel!

One step at a time, then. I closed the door behind me and sat on the top stair. Sitting made it easier; the urge to run away was less strong. I lowered myself one step at a time. There, not so difficult after all. The main thing was just to bear in mind that I _could_ escape at any time I chose to.

Once I was below the level of the floor, there was just soil on either side of me, with no walls holding it back. It was dark and moist, and gave the air a pungent smell. This was not like the fresh soil that makes such a rich and pleasant smell when you turn it over; this was old soil that had known years of stagnation and decay. It was getting harder and harder to go on; I had to look back and keep reminding myself that the moon was still watching over me, and that the cool night breeze would be waiting to welcome me when I emerged.

Then, at last, I reached the bottom of the stairs and was down into the tunnel itself: an irregular passage a few metres wide cut into the rock that lay below the soil. I shook my head; I was certainly not going any further. Not now, at least. I had got what I wanted; I was under cover and could stay hidden for the night. If Tomitake had indeed come here, then the tunnels might well be worth exploring; but that would have to wait until tomorrow. It had already been a long enough day.

Having made up my mind, I settled down just around the corner, getting off the stairs just in case anyone should come by and shine a torch down towards me. The rock made for an uncomfortable bed, but I smoothed it out as well as I could, getting rid of any jagged stones, and curled up. This would have to do; I wasn't going to find anywhere better.

But sleep took a long time to find me. I found myself being distracted by the slightest sounds – water dripping somewhere down the tunnel, a soft tapping that might have been the footsteps of some small animal, and, almost inaudible, a kind of groaning whistle that was probably just the movement of air. I wasn't going to start believing in the ghosts and demons Oryou had spoken of, but it was easy enough to see why anyone might come out talking about ghosts after spending any time down here.

Then, suddenly, I heard a cry, as though someone was shrieking out in pain. It was very faint, echoing towards me from a long way down the tunnel. It was repeated, growing fainter and fainter; then it stopped, and I heard running footsteps – I think they were human, but it was hard to tell. These in turn stopped quite suddenly, and there was a long near-silence, made all the more eerie by the continued soft whistling of the air.

I lay very still. I'm not superstitious, but if there _was_ anything in the tunnels, I didn't want to attract its attention. If I just lay here... the sounds had gone, but they still echoed incessantly through my head; or was I hearing them again in reality? It had become impossible to tell. I couldn't move any more, even if I had wanted to. I closed my eyes and tried to forget where I was, telling myself that this was all a bad dream and if I waited until morning, I would wake up in my room in Kyoto again. Perhaps Hinamizawa itself did not exist and was only the creation of a deranged and sadistic mind. I lay still, for there was no purpose in movement; the only way to escape was to let time pass until whoever created this nightmare was kind enough to let me wake up. I huddled up tight and let the rank air swell slowly past me, until the moonlight was blotted out and the cries of the cicadas were nothing more than the memory of a dream from another world.


	11. Part I Ch 10 A Shadow on the Red Rock

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**10  
>A Shadow on the Red Rock<strong>

By the time morning came and the sun thrust its first tentative feelers down the stairs towards me, my neck was so stiff that I could hardly move. I groaned and slowly felt around, trying to find some way to hold myself so that I could at least rise to my knees without collapsing under my own weight. I hoped I never had to pass another night like that again! But I would have to. Today was the eighteenth of June; it was _tomorrow_ that my death was predicted. I had to stay hidden until then at least. And whatever should happen after that, on the twenty-first my parents would be here and I could leave Hinamizawa behind me for ever. It wasn't that far to go; I would manage. No doubt it would be easier now that I knew what to expect.

I crawled up the stairs, only managing to stagger to my feet again once I reached the top; and as soon as I did so, I just felt so tired that I nearly fell over. This wouldn't do at all! I had to be more awake. Perhaps some food would help... it would be a risk, again, but it was worth it. I needed to be at full strength; I had a long day still ahead of me, and a lot of investigating to do.

The night-watchmen had gone, and I had been careful to leave the door on the latch so that I could slip back inside. I crept up to the door and tested it. Good: it had not been touched, and opened easily. I couldn't help grinning. The Sonozakis were so powerful that they thought leaving a knife on my pillow would paralyse me with fear and leave me helpless, and here I was in their family manor! Why, if I had a mind to do so I could easily have killed them all in their sleep! Two servants were about in the kitchen, so I hid in a broom cupboard until they had gone, and then helped myself to the remains of the Sonozaki breakfast. There was a good amount of food left for me; it seemed one person had left theirs nearly untouched. Kotone, most likely, since I doubted somehow that their parents would let Akito get away with that.

I did feel a lot better after I'd eaten, but it also made me feel even more like lying down for a while. To hell with it! Why should I not just sneak up to Kotone's bedroom? I could get a much better sleep there than in the tunnels. And after all, most of the family would be out – Shion, Akito and Kotone would be at school all day, of course. Come to think of it, I wasn't sure I'd ever been told what Mion or Satoshi did for a living. But whoever was still in the house would be unlikely to come into Kotone's room, so I felt my chances were good enough. And I certainly needed to get some real sleep.

I knew where her room was from my previous visits to the house. Still, I felt very strange now as I slipped inside and closed the door behind me. Up to that point, while I'd known that the Sonozakis were also Akito and Kotone's family, it had never really sunk in that the same people who were trying to kill me also organised my friends' birthday parties, took them on holiday and hung their achievement certificates on the wall. Kotone had a whole noticeboard of achievements in music, swimming and calligraphy... it was so hard to connect all this with my feeling of dread in the tunnels, Oryou's words about dead people hidden down there, their relentless pursuit of me! And if they could hide such dark secrets under such a normal exterior, well, what else might other people be hiding? For all I knew, my own mother could have a second family somewhere; my father might be a killer on the run, or an undercover detective, or maybe a spy!

I shook my head; there was no point in dwelling on such questions. Instead, I unpacked Kotone's futon and lay down to rest. Her room was warm and cosy, and a refreshing fragrance came from the bonsai neatly arranged along the windowsill. In the corner of the room nearest my head was a large bookcase, with a few books, but most of the shelves were an auditorium on which her teddy bears were neatly lined up. They were spotlessly clean; but on the floor around the futon were some more bears that were more worn and tattered. Along the wall above me were a few samples of Kotone's calligraphy, neatly framed, and a Hokusai calendar; but most of the space was given to photographs. There were many of her numerous family members and friends, but one caught my eye in particular because it amused me – Kizuna, dressed as Cardcaptor Sakura and posing in front of Tokyo Tower. At the other end of the room, under the window was a beautiful wooden doll's-house, which Kotone had insisted on showing me the first time I visited the Manor. It had been made and given to her by Satoko and Azusa, and was her most treasured possession. In front of it was an expanse of lilac carpet, and in the middle of this, a small low table at which her dolls were having a tea party. I smiled. She must have really loved those dolls; you could see that several had had broken limbs carefully glued back on. It was such a friendly room; everything in it helped to make me feel at ease and reminded me of happier times, summer days spent in long tea parties with my own friends. I leant back and breathed in the sweet fragrance of the air. I slept.

I woke several hours later – there was no clock in the room, but I could tell as much by the deepening light. Time to move out; I couldn't afford to be here when Kotone and the others returned from school! I yawned, rolled off the futon, and packed it up as neatly as it had been before my arrival. I wished I could have left her a small gift, just to say thank-you and that I was sorry for all the upset I had caused, but I knew I could not. _At least it will all be over very soon..._

I slipped out and waited, listening for where the other family members were before I tried to slip past them. Voices were coming from Akane and Juntarou's room. I crept close to the door and listened for a while. It seemed to be a discussion of financial matters, for I heard a lot of boring grown-up words like "eliminating unwanted expenditure", "allocation of resources", and "making arrangements for the transfer". Juntarou was talking with a younger man; Akane was not there, for I could hear her playing the piano again. I crept past, and opened the door of Akito's room.

I had to step back for a moment and take a deep breath to accustom myself to the smell. This was much worse than the tunnel! I'm not even sure I can describe it, but if you imagine going on a long hike through the desert without changing your socks, and then filling them with mud from the putrid remains of an underground swamp and holding them over your nostrils... actually, not even that would come close. I'm glad I don't have a brother.

As you might imagine, the room was in a state of post-nuclear disarray, the floor and furniture invisible under several layers of old clothes, books left open upside-down, and remote-controlled cars and other long-abandoned toys. The room was very dark, most of the walls covered in near-black posters relating to various musicians or horror films. A dartboard hung on the wall, with two darts sticking out; I made a mental note to tread very carefully. Even so, it was impossible to avoid scratching my feet against broken CD cases, guitar accessories, tetrahedral dice... I won't even try to remember all the things I saw. Well, I couldn't help disturbing some of the mess as I went past, but Akito was hardly likely to notice any difference.

Akito had (of course!) left his futon out, which made it easier for me to get over to the desk, though I had to duck under a wakizashi sticking out from his noticeboard. On the desk stood his computer, which looked even more modern and fancy than Father's; next to it was a used coffee mug, several pens with lids missing, and one of Kotone's dolls, its glue still drying. But I did not have time to look at these – I was after something that I hoped I would find in one of the drawers. Gingerly, I touched the sides of the top drawer with my fingertips and nudged it open, hoping desperately that it did not contain mouldy underwear or something even worse.

It did not. I had found Akito's supply of tools and equipment – penknives, screwdrivers and so forth. There were five torches, all of them different designs and sizes; I tried each in turn and took the second-best, since its absence was less likely to be noticed. Now I would be able to explore the tunnels more thoroughly. I wasn't wild about the idea, but it had to be done. They might contain some clue about Tomitake's disappearance; he might even be imprisoned down there, and I might be able to rescue him! If there was any chance of that... I had to be brave! I had to overcome my fear and go back down into the tunnels.

I left the room as quickly as I could; Akito's alarm clock told me that it was quarter past three. Shion might be home at any moment; the children may or may not, depending on whether they stayed around for club activities. But it was foolish to take any risk more than was necessary. I hurried back along the corridor and downstairs, and it was at that point that I heard the doorbell ring. Akane left off her piano playing to answer it. I hesitated for a moment – but I was curious to know who it was, as it was still a little too early for it to be Shion come home already. I slipped into a corner of the hall, crouched down, and listened.

"Aunt Akane!" said a familiar voice.

"Karen-chan!"

The two women embraced.

"Any news?"

Akane shook her head. "Mion sends me a text every hour. There's still no sign of her."

Karen gulped. "Poor Mion. She really is concerned, isn't she?"

"Of course she is," said Akane. "What a horrible thing to happen..."

"I know," said Karen. "I guess I'm just surprised that Shion-chan isn't taking a more active part in the search. But then, she has other things on her mind at the moment, doesn't she?"

There was a brief silence. "Shion's helping as much as she can," said Akane, sounding a little confused. "Of course, she's very busy with school, if that's what you mean..."

"Not really, but never mind," said Karen. "Anyway, Kasai's keeping watch in Okinomiya, but there's no sign of her there either. I don't think she can have gone that way – we've questioned everyone who might have seen her at the hotels, the train station... no-one's seen anyone matching her description."

_Well, that was something worth hearing. It seems that Karen is still keeping quiet... she's even trying to close off the Okinomiya route so that no-one else thinks of questioning, for instance, the waitresses in the cafés... Of course, she'd be in deep trouble if the Sonozakis knew about what happened, so she's only trying to save her own fingernails, but still... I wonder if she's really concerned about where I am now? Will what I did to Kasai have turned both of them against me? Are they going to join the rest of the family in hunting me down?_

I shook my head; it didn't really matter much now. She'd been a friend, for a while, but I would have to do without her help now. I had to go onward on my own, hoping that _somehow_ I could clear up the mystery. If I managed to expose Naoya and the others, make it so that even Akito had to accept his guilt, then maybe there was a small hope that I could go back to being friends with Akito and Kotone and the others after this was all over. It was only a very small hope, but... I would like that.

I glanced again in the direction of the entrance. They were still talking about me, discussing wild possibilities for where I might be and dismissing each in turn. Well, I would leave them to it. I slipped out of the hall, back along the now familiar route to the servants' quarters and the outside. Even though there was no-one around, I took every precaution, keeping myself low as I crept through the grass and back to the bunker. Once inside, I breathed deeply as I gazed down the stairwell towards the tunnel and tried my best to prepare myself. The time had come.

* * *

><p>I stood in the entrance for a while, shining my torch in each direction in turn; but I saw nothing except rock and small patches of mud, and no movement. It didn't take me long to work out my directions. If I followed the tunnel to my right, I would be going towards the Furude Shrine; the tunnel to my left would take me towards the back of the estate and the hills beyond. It was from the tunnel to the left that I had heard those noises last night, so surely, it was that way I had to go?<p>

I stared into the darkness for a while, and then stopped and laughed at myself. Why was I hesitating? It was only a tunnel. There were no ghosts or demons lurking inside. Whatever it was that had made those noises... it wouldn't be there now. So... why wasn't I moving forward, no matter how much I told my feet it was time to get moving? Damn it! It was only a hole in the rock; apart from lacking in décor, it was no different from a corridor in a building! I could still turn around and go back any time I wanted to. There was nothing to be afraid of!

I felt myself slowly moving forwards. The light faded around me as I went on, and the echoes of my footsteps seemed to grow louder. The chorus of cicadas, still faintly audible down the stairs, was fading, and in its place I heard the soft sound of water dripping a long way away, and the occasional thud of a falling stone. The tunnel ceiling was broken in places by tree-roots, and I could not help thinking – what if part of the tunnel should cave in on top of me, or worse, cut me off and leave me to die from lack of air? But no, there had to be another exit! Unless that had already been blocked off... I shook my head. This wouldn't do. I would keep going and _find_ the other exit, and then I would feel safer.

I went on down the tunnel, shining the torch from side to side; it was some comfort to see both walls so that I knew there was still space in between. The walls were made of a grey rock, slowly flaking apart as the Manor squatting above pressed down upon it; my throat was dry and itching with the dust. Here and there, water trickled down where it had managed to soak through the soil, and patches of a softer grey were visible on the wall, the skeleton of some moss or lichen that had tried to grow there. Some distance further down, the walls suddenly narrowed, and ahead of me was what looked like an opening into another tunnel. I shone my torch through, and for a moment I could only see solid rock; my heart lurched. Then I thought of looking up and down, and at once I realised that I had come upon a well. It was round, about three metres in diameter, and lined with very old brick. A rusty metal ladder ran down the side, close enough to the opening that it was easy to grab hold of and lift myself onto it. Peering up, I saw only an unlit space and a rocky ceiling above; down, nothing but blackness.

I went up first. There's only one place you can hide secrets in a well, and that's at the bottom of it; but I had to make sure of my escape route first. The top of the well turned out to be a large rocky cavern – unless my sense of direction had failed me, this was under the hills behind the estate, and just below the level of the manor's main entrance. There was only one other way out, a black gap in the rocks. I shuddered; it was so narrow! It seemed to be the beginning of a passage – it had to be, for this place to make any sense at all – but if so, it twisted so much that it was impossible to see how far I could get into it.

Well, I had to try it out; but as I scrambled over the rocks and got further in, the walls seemed to taper towards each other, pressing in as though they were trying to squeeze out all the air. I quickened my pace. I was beginning to sweat, and even though I knew it was silly, I heard myself praying to the mountain gods, praying that they would let me through without harming me. But the light grew stronger with each corner I turned, and that helped me keep going.

Then the tunnel opened out into a wide space, and ahead of me I saw a metal grating. I hurried forward to examine it. It was solid and unyielding, cutting the mouth of the tunnel off completely from the room beyond. Light came from a small barred window high in the opposite wall; looking through the grating, I saw a wide and mostly empty room carved out of the rock. Similar gratings cut off three spaces on the other side, giving the impression of cells in a dungeon. Between these, in the middle of the floor was a mattress-sized wooden board with chains attached to the corners; it was darkened in places by what looked like old bloodstains. The exit from the room was a wooden door, which stood closed. No sounds could be heard.

There was nothing for it but to go back. Getting through the narrow passage was easier the second time, but I now felt horribly uneasy, knowing that the tunnel back to the bunker might well be my only exit from the complex. The dungeon room – well, it was only the sort of thing I had almost been expecting to find, given what I knew about the Sonozakis. No doubt the board was there to restrain prisoners as they were tortured. But could it have been from there that the noises I had heard had come? It seemed unlikely; I had heard running footsteps, which could not have come from a restrained prisoner. Besides, if Tomitake had entered through the bunker, he should be somewhere on my side of the grating. I would have to explore further.

Slowly, cautiously, I descended into the well. Having been in that dungeon room, dimly lit though it was, made the absolute blackness harder to bear; I could not shake off a sense that the walls were closing in as I went further down. The air was getting warmer and thicker, carrying a smell so putrid that I started to wonder how much longer I would be able to breathe. And the sounds of the tunnels were louder: the dripping of water echoing off the walls, and the rustling of air as something softly stirred it. Still, I was going past the opening that led back to the bunker; I knew my way back from here. Should I go on? I paused for a moment and shone the torch downwards, carefully playing the beam over the sides of the well, looking for another opening lower down. _There!_ Some five metres lower was the entrance to another tunnel, again just close enough to the ladder for me to get across and into it. It was wide enough, but very dark, and seemed to be empty –

_Wait, what was that?_

I swivelled my torch back over something I had seen, half-hidden behind a dip in the ground. That was definitely a glint of metal! I slid down the ladder and hurried over; as I went, I could not help noticing how much louder the echoes of my footsteps were down here. I reached down to dig out the object, pulled it up by its strap, and examined it closely. It was an Olympus E-1 camera. _Tomitake's missing camera?_ It had to be; not only was it the same model, but I felt sure the strap was identical to the one I had seen him wearing when we went together up to the dam site.

That decided me. Either Tomitake or his kidnapper had been here, and recently. I _had_ to find out where this tunnel led! I was still on part of the Sonozaki estate, but if by any chance this led out of their property, if it could be entered from the outside – that would be worth knowing. Already I was beginning to have an idea about how all this fitted together – but if only I could prove it! I stopped to check the camera; as I had more than half expected, the memory card was missing. I slung the strap over my shoulder, and pressed on.

The tunnel turned a corner, and then another, and another; it seemed to be trying to throw off my sense of direction, but I felt I could keep up. If I was right, the tunnel was now heading north-west, back towards the manor house, either that or I was already passing under it. I had come past a number of side passages, but they were so narrow and dark that I did not even contemplate looking further into them. Still, that meant that I had to keep looking out behind me as well as in front, just in case someone had got into the tunnel and was approaching me from behind...

Still nothing, and no change in sound. I inched forward, revealing the ground a little at a time. I kept a careful eye out for footprints, or any other sign that Tomitake had come this way, but I saw nothing. Of course, that did not prove anything; the floor of the tunnel was mostly rocky, and there were few places you would expect footprints to be visible. I continued forward, as slowly as I dared, always moving the torch from side to side to make sure I did not miss anything...

_Thump._

I stopped at once. _What was that noise?_ It had come from somewhere above and ahead of me – not from the surface, but somewhere in the complex of tunnels. I shrank back against the wall and listened.

There was silence for a while, and then an unmistakable cry of pain – but muffled, as though the person was trying desperately to stifle their cry. But they did not succeed. The cry came again and again, then a quavering scream that shook me to the roots of my soul. Someone was suffering in horrible agony, and close by! It was followed by the sound of footsteps running, running frantically as though the person was fleeing for their life. _But from what?_ There was no sound of anything following...

I stood frozen. I was sweating heavily, and my heart felt it was trying to burst from my chest. There was someone – or _something_ – in the tunnels, something terrible! Should I run back, or should I try to help? Was the victim a living person, or was I just hearing the ghost of one of the Sonozakis' victims from previous years? Were these an echo of the sounds I had heard last night, or was the same person being tortured again? I didn't know. I couldn't think any more. The footsteps and that horrible cry still shuddered through my mind; in that moment I felt I would be hearing them for ever. But _what_ was doing the torturing? A person or a demon? _Could_ I get back, or would the thing just take a shortcut to get ahead of me? I was trapped. Why had I ever come down here? _I had to get out!_

My torch had fallen to the ground, but I couldn't pick it up: when I tried to bend over, my stomach lurched, and I had to press my feet tightly into the floor to stop myself collapsing. I could feel a panic attack coming on; my breathing was loud and heavy, but I didn't seem to be taking in any air. I was hot and my head was floating; I was losing focus. _This won't do – I have to stay in control!_ I threw myself forward and clawed at the wall of the tunnel. Here at least was something solid. I lowered myself to the floor – there, that was easier – and reached out for the torch.

The tunnels were silent now. But I had not imagined those sounds! I _had_ to know, I had to find out... I had to help, if I could, if someone really was being tortured down here. I didn't dare climb to my feet and risk collapsing again, so I crawled onwards. This made it rather awkward to keep the torch shining ahead of me, but I managed it, somehow. Then, round the next corner, there was a very faint gleam of light. It wasn't coming from anywhere in particular, it just made the whole tunnel slightly lighter. Probably a bright light coming from a long way ahead of me. Perhaps... yes, I was strong enough to stand now. Damn! Why did I have to panic like that! Now I had lost precious time. Not that I _wanted_ to meet the demon or whatever it was, but... someone was in pain, and panicking was never going to help them.

I hurried on. The light was growing stronger, and the tunnel sloped upwards. Then it turned a corner, and I saw ahead of me a passage, illuminated by light coming from a doorway at the far end, some way above me and a long way away. I could just make out the edges of the passage, even without the aid of the torch. There seemed to be something running along both sides. A rack holding some kind of weapons or implements, perhaps? I could certainly see long poles, and the glint of metal blades at the top, some straight and some curved.

Then I saw it. On the floor of the tunnel was a black shape, small and still. I ran towards it. My heart was pounding against my ribs again, but I _had_ to know what it was! Trying to turn back now would have been even worse than going on. I shone the torch onto the figure, and at once the black changed to colours – the blue of fabric, and red that I knew at once was blood. I couldn't stop now. I shone the torch slowly onwards, until it revealed a shock of green hair, lying loose around the body, and the pale skin of Kotone, her face contorted in anguish and frozen in death.

I ran over to her and threw myself down by her side, running my fingers over the skin of her arm. Dead, I could tell – but still warm. Was this my fault? If I had gotten here sooner...

I turned my head rapidly from side to side. _Where had the killer gone?_ There was no-one else here. I couldn't hear anything. Wait – yes, I could. Faint sounds were coming from somewhere above me: a creak like a door opening or closing. _I've got to get out! What if he – or it – comes back?_

I clambered to my feet and took one last look down at Kotone. The blood had oozed out from her chest and formed a puddle under the body; my knees were now damp with it. She had been stabbed through the heart, but the weapon was not here. Her hairpin lay broken beside her, one of the garnets rolling over the rocky floor. Her right arm lay over her chest, her left loose at her side. And – I almost screamed as I saw this – her left arm was gashed open by many wounds, thick lines of blood crisscrossing all the way up and down her skin. It was horrible to look at; she had been cut so deeply that, in places, the flesh was turned over to expose the bone beneath. And then I saw a long line of drops and splashes of blood, over the walls and floor of the tunnel, leading back towards the doorway at the top. The blood had fallen from her arm as she ran! These wounds – they had been made before death! Someone must have cut her with a knife or something, again and again, with no mercy, for no reason other than to inflict pain, until he had finally relented and put an end to her suffering. How could anyone do that to such a small child?

I couldn't believe this. I thought back to the games we had played together, back when Hinamizawa had still been a refuge, a place of warmth and happiness and not fear. This was so cruel! If I'd known this was going to happen, I'd never have run away; I'd have done anything to protect her! We'd only been friends for two weeks, but she was an essential part of the spirit of Hinamizawa; they all were! The club wouldn't be the same without any one of them! Now it was broken; that spirit was dead; Akito would never get over this. He'd never get to see her grow up, never get to know what she had in store for the world. She'd been so cheerful, so vibrant and full of life, and all of that was gone now, gone for ever. It was too much to bear.

I was shaking, but I held back the tears. _I had to get out._ The door probably led back into the house... the Sonozakis were not my enemies now. They would want their daughter's killer caught, even more than I did. _If only the killer isn't waiting on the other side of that door..._

There was definitely some sound of movement, so faint that it could be anything. I had to take the risk. I ran frantically towards the door, and threw it open – and almost ran headlong into Akito as he approached it from the other side, torch in hand. For a moment we just stood there staring at each other, both of us too astonished to speak.


	12. Part I Ch 11 Questions

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**11  
>Questions<strong>

We were in a cellar of some sort, casks and boxes all around us. The only light, other than our torches, came from the top of a flight of stairs at the far end. Akito skidded to a halt and shone his torch directly into my eyes.

"Stop that!" I cried.

His eyes opened wide, and the torch slipped a little in his hand. At least it wasn't shining in my face any more.

"_Miaka?_"

"Akito-kun, have you seen anyone? Has anyone come through this door?" I said urgently. _The killer can't have just vanished!_

"Huh?" he said. "No, of course not. What's going on, Miaka-chan? What was that noise? I heard a scream..."

He stepped towards the door behind me. _I have to stop him! I can't let him see –_

"Don't go that way!" I cried out, reaching out to grab hold of him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He pushed me back.

"Akito, _don't_! Just trust me!"

_Pathetic. I can't even make up a lie?_

"Get out of my way, Miaka!" He gave a rough shove and strode past me into the doorway.

_There's nothing I can do now... but I can't just run and leave him. If the killer didn't come through the cellar – where else did he go? Did he vanish after all? If not... he might still be close by!_

Akito stood frozen in shock; his mouth fell open as a silent scream burst out of him. Then he charged forward; in what seemed less than a second, he was at Kotone's side, lifting her head so that he could gaze into her expressionless eyes. I ran back down the passage towards him, holding one hand across my heart to try to keep it quiet. I scanned rapidly from side to side, alert for the tiniest sign of movement. But there was no-one else here, and no sound of anyone in the tunnels.

_But he could come back at any moment..._

"Akito-kun, we've got to get out of here..." I nervously tapped his shoulder.

Akito was trembling. He laid Kotone down and turned his head to look up towards me. In that dim light, his face looked hard and rigid, a dull red mask cut out from the darkness by triangles of shadow, more like the demons on the wall of Rika's shrine than a living person.

"_You!_" he growled, his jaw snapping in anger. "What have you done to her?"

I flinched back. "I didn't do anything!"

He leapt up towards me and grabbed me by the front of my blouse. "So why were you trying to stop me finding out?"

"It's not like that, Akito-kun," I cried. "I was going to tell you... I just didn't want you to have to see all this! I'm so sorry..."

"_Sorry?_ That's not going to bring her back!" He was glaring at me, but – I could see that he was holding back. He wasn't actually going to strike.

"Akito-kun, _please listen!_" I slipped from his grasp and knelt on the floor, and immediately regretted it. I was getting blood on my knees again. "I didn't do this. I... I just found her."

"Sure," he growled. "Like you _just happened_ to be wandering through the Labyrinth when the whole village is searching for you!"

"Well, where the hell else was I supposed to hide?"

"_Hide?_" He was still shaking; he was looking at me like I was some kind of demon now. "Miaka, what are you talking about?"

"I..." I closed my eyes and sobbed. _Great_. I would have to tell him now. But then he would just think I was crazy! But I couldn't come up with a lie. I would just have to hope.

"_I've been hiding because your family are trying to kill me!_ I overheard Irie-sensei talking about it! He knows... he's in on the plot too!"

I looked up at Akito with wide, pleading eyes.

"What the hell?" he said. "This is nonsense! Miaka, this is your Hinamizawa Syndrome talking..."

"_I knew you'd say that!_" I shrieked. "That's why I couldn't tell you! But it's the truth, Akito, I swear it!"

"What the hell...," he said again. He was gnashing his teeth, trying to work up the nerve to make a decision. I had to convince him, and fast. I still couldn't shake off a feeling that the killer was somewhere close by. We couldn't stay here!

"_Tomitake!_" I said quickly.

"What?"

"You can't say I imagined that! Tomitake's disappeared! He found out too much, and they got him – you ask Kasai if you don't believe me!"

"Kasai isn't here..." His eyes stole back towards Kotone, and he shuddered and closed them. He was uncertain! He could hear the sincerity in my voice, I was sure of it! But how could I convince him further? I took a deep breath...

"And Kotone-chan," I said. "That's not a hallucination either, Akito-kun. Her killer must still be somewhere down here... we've got to get away!"

He swivelled back towards me. "_And how do I know that killer isn't you?_"

I took hold of his arm. "Akito-kun, I would _never_ do something like this. Kotone-chan was my friend! You're my friend – I couldn't harm your sister, knowing it would hurt you! You know me well enough to know that!"

He couldn't meet my eyes. He was sobbing, shaking all over. "I thought I knew you," he said quietly. "I don't know what to think any more. The Miaka I knew wouldn't disappear without telling any of us, and then reappear three days later in the Sonozaki Labyrinth with black hair!"

I sighed. I _really_ hadn't wanted to say this, but it seemed I had no choice.

"I couldn't tell you, Akito-kun. You wouldn't have believed me –"

"You never gave us the chance!"

I shook my head. "You really wouldn't, Akito-kun. You see..."

"Yes?"

I stared at the floor. "Naoya is part of the conspiracy too."

He staggered back. The torch fell out of his hand and hit the floor with a thud; its echoes seemed to go on for ever. I started to cry. It hurt so much that I had to hurt Akito, when he was so hurt already, when Kotone was _dead_...

The next thing I knew, Akito was kneeling on the rock beside me, his head pressed onto my nearer shoulder and his hand wrapped around my other shoulder as he let his soul recede into a world of tears, thrashing about and sending splashes shivering down my breast. I put a hand on his waist and cried with him, at least in synchrony if not sympathy. The world he was in was one that I did not know how to enter.

"Why, Miaka?" he sobbed at last. "Why would you think that? Naoya-kun would never..."

"I heard him, Akito-kun," I said softly. "I heard him talking about it with Irie."

"But – don't you understand?" Akito wept. "Naoya loves you! Don't you know that? I've seen it in his eyes, ever since that day you first walked into class. I don't know what you heard him say... you _must_ have misunderstood. Naoya would _never_ hurt you."

"What?" I said weakly as I tried to take this in. No, it _couldn't_ be true! For a start, I couldn't be mistaken about what I'd heard Naoya say; Karen had heard it too! Of course he couldn't love me; we'd only just met. He might have had a crush on me, though I'd not seen any signs of it – but that's completely different. Perhaps the plan had not been to inject me with poison, as Karen had thought, but to give me a sedative so that I would not fight back when Naoya... I shivered. But one thing was clear: there was nothing to be gained from sharing these suspicions with Akito.

"It doesn't matter," I said at last.

"What?"

"It doesn't matter whether you believe me about Naoya. We have to get out of here."

"Yeah." I helped him get to his feet, and supported him; he hung heavily over my shoulder. His eyes kept trailing over towards Kotone. "I can't bear to leave her like that," he said.

"I know," I said with a gulp. "But Akito, it's a crime scene, you're meant to leave it exactly as you found it."

"Yeah." He said nothing more as we staggered together back up the passage. We didn't even bother to pick up Akito's torch; I still had mine. By the time we reached the cellar, Akito was a little calmer – still trembling, but his head was lifted and he was moving forward with purpose.

"You wait here," he said. "I'll be back in five minutes – promise."

"All right." I didn't like staying there, still so close, but it wasn't the tunnel, and this was no time to start arguing. I gently closed the door to the tunnels, and felt a horrible crunch in my heart as I did. Closing that door was like forcing myself to accept that Kotone had gone from my life; and staring ahead into the cellar was looking into a new life, dark, unknown and hostile.

Akito had reached the door at the top of the stairs. "Gorou-san!" he called out.

I could just hear a voice responding from the corridor beyond; an elderly man's voice, it sounded like. "Akito-san?"

"Which family members are in the house at the moment?" Akito's voice sounded almost normal now, as though he were worried about some trivial matter of household duty and Kotone were still alive. But there was something about his intonation that was not quite the same – a hesitation as he struggled to force his emotions down. I would never have noticed it if I hadn't already known what it meant.

"Akane-san is in the conservatory with Karen-san. Juntarou-san is upstairs. Oryou-sama is in her room. Mion-san, Shion-san and Satoshi-san are out, I believe."

"Good." He gulped. I could picture his face as he spoke so easily: his eyes must have been tightly screwed up as he forced himself to go on, to get it out. "Gorou-san, my sister – Kotone – has been murdered. You must call the police."

There was silence for a moment.

"Yes, sir." Gorou spoke with the imperturbability of an efficient servant, but in his voice, too, I could hear a change: a drop in tone as if the pleasure he took in his service had been drained out of him in a moment.

"You must insist on speaking to Kumagai. When he comes, bring him to this cellar without letting the other family members know he is here. Show him the door down to the Labyrinth. And... he'll want to talk to me. Tell him I'm indisposed. He can speak to me later."

"Yes, sir."

The door closed, and Akito was coming back down the stairs towards me. He sighed deeply and paused to hold himself steady. His posture drooped, and he was staring downwards. His voice was cold and mechanical.

"So that's taken care of," he said. "Miaka-chan, we've got to get you out of here before the police arrive."

"I've got nowhere to go..."

"I don't mean leave the house," he said impatiently. "Come on. There's a shed out the back where we can stay out of the way for a while. I need to talk to you. I have to know what the hell has been going on."

I nodded. "Sure, let's go." I took his arm and let him lead me away. "Akito-kun..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for trusting me," I said sadly. "Akito-kun, I'm so sorry about what happened... I heard her screaming and running, and I couldn't get to her in time... I'm sorry..."

I felt his touch on my arm tighten a little. "I'm sorry too, Miaka," he said.

* * *

><p>The door at the top of the stairs led to an unfamiliar wing of the house. Akito guided me to a back door, and we started to walk across to a shed half-hidden among the trees.<p>

"Akito-kun..." I couldn't help chuckling for a moment, but I abruptly checked myself.

"What is it?"

"Your face..." Seeing him now in daylight, I realised for the first time that Akito's face had been painted, and either it was done very badly or his tears had made the colours run. He looked like the unholy love child of Darth Maul and a hummingbird.

"Oh, that," he said flatly. "I lost to Saki-chan at tennis. I should know better than to challenge that girl." He stopped, and burst out sobbing again, his head wilting over his shoulder as though it were made of lead. "We were all so happy... what am I going to tell the others, Miaka-chan? What am I going to tell little Kichi?"

"Listen..." I nudged him gently, and glanced anxiously around us. "Let's get under cover, and then we can talk. I don't think we should tell the others anything yet."

"_What?_"

"I'll explain. Come on."

The shed was not locked. We slipped inside and sat down on a wooden bench. In other circumstances it would have been a lovely place to sit and spend time – it was cool, sheltered from the sun by the foliage all around, and the shadows of the leaves were fascinating to watch as they fluttered around us and over us.

"So... what _is_ all this?" Akito said at last.

"I think I've worked something out. But first, I need to ask you some questions."

He looked startled. "Ask _me_? Well, of course. Ask anything you like."

"All right." I took a deep breath. "What do you know about Maebara Keiichi?"

"_What?_" He was, again, looking at me like I was some kind of monster or demon. "Miaka-chan, what the _hell_ does that have to do with..."

I reached out and gripped his hand. "I think there's a connection," I said quickly. "If you tell me what you know, I'll do my best to explain."

"Well, all right," Akito said doubtfully. He spoke slowly as he struggled to pluck ideas from his memory; his eyes were half-closed, and I could tell that he was still seeing that horrible scene in front of him. "Maebara Keiichi was an old flame of Aunt Mion's. They were friends at school, but... he died. I don't think Mion's ever really gotten over it."

"How did he die?"

"He'd gone to study at Tokyo University, along with another friend, Ryuuguu Rena. There was a bomb attack... a students' common room was blown up, I think, or something like that. Eight students died, including both Keiichi and Rena."

"_Rena?_" It was my turn to be startled. "That's Naoya's sister, isn't it? He never said that she was dead!"

"Well..." Akito looked away. "You understand, it's rather a painful subject for many of us. We just thought you didn't need to know, if you're only here for a month."

"I understand," I said quietly.

"Miaka-chan, I'm sorry..."

"No, it's all right," I said. "But who planted the bomb?"

"The Kanahebi claimed responsibility."

"_The Kanahebi?_" I quickly counted on my fingers. "Assuming Keiichi was close to Mion's age, if he was at university, we're talking about roughly fifteen years ago..."

"Exactly fifteen. It was a few months after I was born. And yes, the Kanahebi were around back then – though they were a small group that no-one outside central Tokyo had heard of."

"Ah, I didn't realise that," I said. Not that I really know much about the Kanahebi. I've _heard_ of them, of course – who hasn't? But I don't follow the news; it's too depressing, when there are so many happier things in life to think about. What I know is that they're a criminal or terrorist organisation who've become quite notorious in recent years, but no-one seems to know what can be done about them.

I looked across at Akito. "You don't mind my asking so many questions?"

He grimaced. "Actually, it's good. It... helps to take my mind off things..."

I clutched his hand tightly. "It's all right, Akito-kun. You can cry as much as you need to... I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Thank you."

"So...," I went on, "I have more questions, if that will help."

He nodded. "Go on."

"Oryou-sama told me that Mion was crazy about Keiichi. But did he love her back? Were they ever, you know, a couple?"

Akito shook his head. "I don't know. You'd have to ask Aunt Mion or Mother or someone for the full story. I don't think they were engaged or anything like that. I rather think if they had been, the family would be a bit more open about the whole thing, instead of it being just Mion's private grief."

I nodded. "That makes sense, but still... you honestly _don't know_?"

He turned to face me, his expression blank. "Do _you_ know anything about your parents' old loves? Or even how they first met each other?"

"Huh, good point..." I thought for a while. "And did Mion-san have any other suitors?"

Akito scowled. "Her cousin Masashi, Uncle Hiroshi's son, wanted to marry her, but she refused. It led to a big quarrel, and that's why we don't talk to that side of the family any more."

I frowned thoughtfully. This didn't _quite_ jibe with the version I had heard from Karen, but it gave me a lot to think about all the same.

"Miaka-chan?" Akito said after a while. "What _is_ all this about?"

I took a deep breath. I knew Akito wasn't going to like what I was about to say, but we weren't going to make progress if we weren't honest with each other.

"Did you know that the Sonozaki family killed Maebara Keiichi?"

He clearly hadn't. He jolted in his seat and his mouth fell open. He stared at me, seemingly trying to speak, but no words came out.

"Oryou-sama told me as much," I said quickly. "Actually... are you ready to hear this?"

"Go on," he said with some difficulty.

"She told me that _she_ had killed Keiichi. Now, I'm assuming she didn't plant the bomb herself. Even fifteen years ago, I'd guess she was too frail to travel to Tokyo on a whim..."

"Yeah, she pretty much stayed at home. If she left for a long journey, it would be noticed."

"So, there are three possibilities for what she meant. One, she ordered the bomb to be planted. That seems unlikely... she sounded like she regretted his death, and – I hope you don't mind my saying this – she seems like the kind of person who, if she wanted to kill someone, would make her mind up firmly and never look back."

Akito even managed a faint smile. "That's Oni-baba all right. Besides, it's just not the Sonozaki way of doing things. If we want to kill someone, we strike silently in the night, and we don't harm other people as well."

I, in turn, couldn't help smiling at that. "Well then, the second possibility is that Oryou-sama in some way influenced the killer inadvertently and made him decide to plant the bomb. That's if it was someone else, not the Kanahebi. But I'm sure they'd be happy to claim responsibility, whether they really did it or not."

Akito nodded. "And the third?"

"Well, that the bomb really _was_ the Kanahebi, but Oryou-sama feels responsible for Keiichi's death because it was somehow her fault that he was there at the time."

"And which of those..." His voice trailed off. "_Hang on._ I know where this is going." He was trembling again. "You're going to say that Kotone... that her death was... revenge for Keiichi..."

"Mm. Or for Rena."

"_No!_" He grabbed my hand sharply and tugged, giving me a jarring pain in my shoulder. "Miaka-chan, stop this! Stop trying to drag Naoya-kun into it! He would never..."

I gently slid my hand free from his grasp. "Are you sure of that, Akito-kun?"

"Of course I'm sure! You don't understand!" He was crying, but he wiped his eyes and looked up to face me. "Miaka-chan, I... if I could get my hands on the bastard who did that to Kotone, I promise you, I wouldn't hesitate... I would rip out their spine and mash it to paste and force them to eat it. But Naoya-kun never even met his sister. Why would he take revenge now, after all this time?"

"Don't you think that may be a reason in itself?" I said quietly. "He must have grown up constantly being reminded of her absence; feeling that he's disappointing his parents because he can't fill that gap in their lives. No matter how much they all try, things won't ever be the same, and he can't help being aware of it. If he suddenly found out who was responsible for that –"

"Never," Akito said firmly. "Look – even assuming the most crazy scenario you like – even if it was your mother who killed Rena, and Naoya found that out, he'd never try to kill _you_ for that. That's just not the kind of person he is. And he would never, _ever_ harm Kotone..."

"I know," I said quickly. "Look, I don't want to argue about Naoya. I agree; whether he's part of the conspiracy or not, he's not the leader, and he didn't kill your sister. It's the person _behind_ all this we need to get at."

Akito sighed. "All right," he said wearily. "I still think you're crazy, but go on."

I took a deep breath. "Well... there are two things that have been bothering me. Firstly – I know that Irie said Mion was part of the conspiracy, but that doesn't make sense. You were there at the shrine last night; you heard what Yanagida was saying."

Akito's eyes were wide. "How the hell do _you_ know about that?"

"I'll explain later. Anyway, both Mion and Shion took Rika's side..."

"Of course they did! Mother and Rika-sama are very old friends!"

I placed a hand gently on his wrist. "Please let me finish. Oryou-sama said to me that the villagers' trust in Rika-sama is closely bound up with their trust in the Sonozaki family. Damage one, and you damage the other."

"What are you getting at? And when did you get to talk to Oni-baba?"

"Listen, Akito-kun. I think the idea of the conspiracy was to make me disappear because that would revive the belief in Oyashiro-sama's curse and damage the standing of Rika-sama and the Sonozakis, especially the twins. So, you see, they _must_ be innocent. It wouldn't make sense for them to plot against themselves."

"_Holy Oyashiro!_" Akito cried. He was glowering, his hands curling up like claws and digging into his own flesh. "That's it? All this to explain why you've kindly decided _my mother_ is innocent?"

"Please don't get mad, Akito-kun..."

"You really suspected her, didn't you?" He started to sob again, and hid his face in his hands. "Did you forget that Shion is Kotone's mother as well? Can you really imagine her wanting to kill her own daughter?"

I looked away. "I don't know," I said quietly. "Can you imagine a daughter ever wanting to kill her own mother?"

Akito caught his breath. "I... I'm sorry, Miaka-chan. I'd almost forgotten..."

"It's all right. You had no particular reason to keep thinking about it."

"I... are you angry with me?"

"No." I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "But listen, Akito-kun. We've got to think about what this looks like from an outside perspective, because that's how the police are going to be looking at it."

"All right." He took a deep breath. "So... carry on."

I nodded. "Well, the other thing that's been troubling me... why would they go to so much trouble? Why warn me that they wanted to kill me? Why not just do it?"

He looked at me blankly. "I don't know. Why?"

"Well, like I said before, the best way to look at it is to start with what actually happened as a result. I went into hiding, and the police and the Sonozakis are looking everywhere for me."

"Yeah... but why would anyone want that?"

"Akito-kun, if you needed to disappear for a few days, where would you go?"

He didn't hesitate. "The Labyrinth, of course."

"Exactly! You're a Sonozaki, so naturally that's the first thing that occurs to you."

"So?"

"The Sonozakis are helping the police in the search. So how long do you think it would take before they think of searching the Labyrinth?"

He snorted. "They should have thought of it already. I bet the only reason they haven't is that they think you don't know about it."

"Right. But they'd be bound to look there sooner or later. And what will they find?"

He gulped deep in his throat. "Kotone..."

"Yes, and Tomitake's camera, or they would if I hadn't taken it. And probably Tomitake's body as well is somewhere down there."

"You're saying... the killer _wanted_ Kotone's body to be found..."

"Not just that. He wants her body, or _a_ body, to be found _in the Labyrinth_. If... if this is any comfort... I'd guess it was originally going to be just Tomitake, and Kotone just happened to see the killer, or something like that..."

"_Stop it!_"

Akito looked for a moment as if he was about to be sick. I cautiously adjusted my position and put my arm around him, allowing him to cry until he was steady again.

"So...," I went on quietly, "as soon as Tomitake's disappearance is reported, the police will search his room, and find the same evidence that Karen and I saw – evidence that he was investigating the Sonozaki family. Evidence that most likely was planted there by the killer."

"In other words... you're saying that someone is trying to frame Aunt Mion."

"That's right. Don't you see, it all fits in? If a body is found in the Labyrinth, what are the police going to think? Who else would hide it there, if not the Sonozaki family? _Are_ there any other ways in, for that matter?"

"I don't know," said Akito. "You can imagine, those tunnels always fascinated us when we were kids, but we were strictly forbidden from exploring too far on our own. I don't think there's anyone still alive who knows the full extent of the system. Oni-baba says there used to be tunnels leading to the Furude Shrine, and a hideout in the hills, but those may have collapsed."

I nodded. "But you see what I'm getting at. Tomitake going missing and then turning up in the Labyrinth would be a sure way to make the Sonozakis look suspicious. And that ties in with the whole business with Maebara Keiichi. Mion loved Keiichi... that leads to two possible motives for his death. Either someone else loved Mion and wanted Keiichi out of the way... or else Mion herself quarrelled with him and killed him. Let's say, just as an example, she found out he was cheating on her with this Rena girl. At least, that's what the police might think, if something tips them off and they decide to re-open the investigation."

Akito was breathing heavily. "All this is for real?" he said at last.

"Yes, that's how it looks to me," I said. "All this stuff with Yanagida, that's been set up to make people start doubting Rika-sama and the twins. Then, when it comes out that they're under suspicion of murder, the villagers won't rally in their support. They'll be out of the way, and someone else is going to make a grab for power."

"I can hardly believe this..."

I tightened my grip on his wrist. "I know. But we'll find a way to stop them."

"But _how_?" he cried. "What can we do?"

"Well, the first thing is to find out who's behind this..."

"You... you suspect Masashi-san, don't you?"

I grimaced. "Well, that's one possibility. I know that he has a long-standing enmity with the twins; his father resented being passed over for the family leadership, so he may have picked up on that; and he has a motive for Keiichi's murder. It's possible, if he killed Keiichi, that Tomitake found some new evidence and was threatening to expose him."

Akito shook his head. "This is all surmise. There's no real evidence."

"I know," I said. "And it could be all wrong. I mean, the killer could be someone else entirely. But we'll find out who, and we'll prove it, I promise you." I took a deep breath and smiled across at him.

He shook his head again. "We don't have much time," he said wretchedly. "Miaka-chan... did I do the wrong thing, telling Gorou to call in the police?"

"No," I said quickly. "If I'm right about all this... they'd have found out very soon anyway. And it would have looked a lot worse for you and the Sonozakis if you hadn't called them."

"Thanks," he said. He staggered to his feet, still struggling to hold himself steady. "But, you know... I don't even know where to start looking."

"Me neither." I rose to stand with him, and we remained in silence for a moment.

Then we heard a voice calling, from somewhere in the grounds. "Akito! Kotone! Where are you?"

"It's Grandma Akane," said Akito. "Wait here."

He went out, closing the door behind him. "I'm here!"

Akane hurried over. "There you are! Where's Kotone? Your mother wants you both."

"Uh... I'll see if I can find her. Where's Mother?"

"She's at the shrine. There's another meeting going on. She wants you both to come."

"Oh! Okay, I'll be right there."

I waited. A few moments later, Akito slipped back into the shed. He was sobbing again, and buried his head against the doorframe.

"What have I done?" he said. "Now Grandma will think I know where Kotone is... I mean, I do know where she is! I didn't know what to say!"

"You did the best you could," I said gently. "At least she won't be worrying about Kotone for now. I guess we'll have to find a way to break the news later." I felt a horrible tension in my stomach. That was not going to be easy – but I couldn't leave Akito to do it on his own.

I sighed. "Come on, Akito-kun. We'd better get going."

I took his arm and we went out together into the night.


	13. Part I Ch 12 Confrontation

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**12  
>Confrontation<strong>

The world around us was dark and cold as we hurried towards the shrine. Almost no lights were on in the village, which for a city girl like me meant that it was far darker than anything I was used to seeing, a dark that I associated with adventure and nights spent huddled up with friends on camping trips, pretending to each other that the night was far more perilous than it was. It gave me a comforting feeling. The moon had not yet risen. It would be easy to watch the scene and remain invisible.

We ran on through the silent streets. We heard the sounds of commotion ahead of us from some distance away; it sounded like most of the village had gathered. The noise, too, would provide good cover. We turned the last corner and saw ahead of us the main entrance to the shrine precinct, jammed with people trying to fill in and jostle forward. Akito quickly took my hand and led me through the trees so as to approach the shrine from the side, and we slipped into the shadow of the Saiguden and carefully inched forward to peer round its walls.

The courtyard was lit by a row of small lanterns hanging from the roof of the main shrine building. Rika and Yanagida stood facing each other again, but there was a clear difference between this and their previous meeting. The crowd were not in a ring, but had formed a block behind Yanagida and his priests. Rika seemed to have desperately gathered all the supporters she could find: Suguru and Kizuna stood beside her, with Satoko, Azusa and Saki on one side of them, the Sonozaki twins and Satoshi on the other; close behind the group were Naoya and his mother, and Tomita and his wife. Rika's supporters and Yanagida's priests were silent, while Rika and Yanagida themselves seemed to both be trying to talk at once; and all around them the crowd were crying out sudden interjections as well as murmuring amongst themselves.

Akito stopped, glancing back at me as if wondering whether to stay with me or join his mother. I gave him a flat look, trying to say that it was up to him. He chose to stay. We crouched together, close against the wall of the Saiguden, and listened.

"– and you still deny this is Oyashiro-sama's curse!" Yanagida was screeching, making wild gestures with his free hand and striking his stick against the floor.

Rika, for her part, could hardly move, but I got the impression from the almost predatory way she hunched forward that she would have loved to spring on him if she could.

"There is no evidence that it is. Miaka-san will be found. She is a friend of Oyashiro-sama, and Oyashiro-sama looks after and protects all of us."

"If she hasn't disappeared, then _where is she_? You know as well as I do, the entire Sonozaki family have been scouring the village, the woods, the neighbouring towns. Face it, she's gone!"

"We are all concerned about Miaka-san," Rika said firmly, but not aggressively. "I don't like to say this in front of Kizuna, but it is possible that she may have been kidnapped..." Kizuna squirmed and looked terrified.

"And you still say you know of no way in which she may have incurred the wrath of Oyashiro-sama?"

"Of course not!" Rika looked angry for the first time. "I would not lie about such a thing."

Yanagida gestured around him. "Some of these children are Miaka's friends, aren't they?" he said. "Do any of them know where she might be hiding?"

"Why not ask them that question, instead of treating them like scenery?"

There was something rather ghoulish about the way Yanagida smirked just then. "Come here, young lady," he said to Saki.

She inched very slightly closer to him, clearly unwilling to leave her mother's side. Some of the crowd began to laugh.

"You were friends with Teramachi Miaka, weren't you?"

"I _am_ friends with her, yes," Saki corrected him.

"Have you seen her at all since her so-called disappearance?"

"Of course not!" Saki pulled an indignant face.

"And do you know how she came to incur the wrath of Oyashiro-sama?"

"She would _never_," Saki growled. "Miaka is a better friend of Oyashiro-sama than _you_ will ever be, old man!"

"Saki, don't be rude," said Azusa; but I _think_ I saw her giving Saki a little approving smile.

Yanagida was unfazed. "Do you know what this is?"

I had to stifle a gasp. _He was holding up my bracelet!_ Instinctively I felt for it on my wrist, even though I'd never seen another one like it, and so it had to be the real thing. It was not on my wrist. Where could I have lost it?

I breathed deeply. _Please don't say anything, Saki-chan. It will only help him..._

"Hey, that's Miaka's bracelet!" Saki cried. "Give that back, thief!"

_Oh, no... this is going to mean trouble, I know it..._

She tried to snatch at it, but he held it out of her reach. "You see?" he cried out, glancing over his shoulder at the crowd behind him. "The girl identifies this as Miaka's property!"

"And what's the significance of that?" snapped Mion. "Where did you get that?"

He fixed her with a crinkled grin. "Oh, I was coming to that," he said – and I didn't like at all the confidence in his tone. "This was found on the floor of the attic of the Saiguden – where, as you know very well, it is forbidden for any but the priests of Oyashiro-sama to tread!"

The murmurings of the crowd were cut short and replaced by shocked gasps.

"So what were you doing in there, you rotter?" said Shion.

Yanagida gave her a kindly smile. "Oh, I had permission to enter, to fetch certain articles that it would be difficult for Furude-san to reach" – he bowed – "in her present condition."

"This means nothing!" Satoko cried. "The children play there all the time, just like Rika-chan and I used to..."

Rika gently touched Satoko's arm and whispered something to her.

"Is that true, Furude-san?" said one of Yanagida's priests.

Rika looked up at him with an air of calm defiance. "Certainly! Oyashiro-sama is a gentle god who loves children, and letting her share their company and take pleasure in their play is the greatest worship we can give her."

The shouts of the crowd were building up into a hubbub.

"This is how you carry out your sacred duty as Oyashiro-sama's prophet?" Yanagida bellowed. "Have you forgotten what the Saiguden is protecting? Nothing less than the Onigari-no-Ryuuou, the most sacred treasure of Hinamizawa! It is not a place for children to play!"

"There was once a preacher in a distant land," Rika said quietly, "who said: Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

"And what's that to us?" Yanagida sneered. "Was he a priest of Oyashiro-sama?"

"No, but..."

"Then you're obfuscating the issue!" He rapped the ground heavily with his stick. "This is proof that Miaka violated the most sacred laws of Hinamizawa! You cannot deny it any longer! She has become a victim of Oyashiro-sama's curse!"

It was very tempting, at that moment, to refute him by jumping out and showing myself; but I held myself back. It wouldn't do. I would be in more danger than ever if the enemy knew I was still here, if they suspected I knew about their plans. No... I owed it to Kotone, if nothing else, to stay hidden until I could unmask the person who killed her.

"I _do_ still deny it," said Rika. "This is only circumstantial evidence. I _know_ in my heart that Oyashiro-sama would not bring harm upon that innocent girl."

Yanagida seemed to grow a little as he leant forward in his fury. "How can you know such a thing? You presume too much on your standing in this village, Furude-san! You are only a priest of Oyashiro-sama, not Oyashiro-sama himself!"

Rika faced him tensely, with hunched shoulders. "Is it not said, Yanagida-san, that if there are eight generations of first-born girls in a row in the Furude family, the eighth will be the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama? I am that eighth first-born girl."

"It has been said," Yanagida growled. "But it now looks rather as if things are otherwise. The historical records must be in error."

"_How dare you?_" cried Shion. "If you cast doubt on our historical records, you cast doubt on the Three Great Families who have led the people of Hinamizawa for a thousand years!"

Yanagida gave a cocky little smirk. "That is my intention, Sonozaki-sensei."

"You would rebel against our leadership? That's big talk for such a little man. The people will never follow you."

"Will they not?" He turned to face Shion, thrusting his whole posture aggressively towards her. "You may not be up to date with current affairs, Sonozaki-sensei. The people of this country have had enough of the tyranny of the yakuza. All across the country, they are fighting back; you may feel secure and snug in your little village, but your time will come too."

Shion sneered right back at him. "You make big claims. What do you have to back them up, I wonder?"

I clenched my fists. _Don't tempt him... he must have something up his sleeve!_

He grinned, and gestured at the crowd behind him, which seemed to be building up and swelling, like a slow rolling tide. "Oh, I'm not without followers," he said. "How many of them have had to pay 'taxes' to the Sonozaki family in return for your dubious services?"

"Dubious?" Mion said sharply. "I might expect to have to argue this with one of the youngsters, but hardly with you, old man. Do I need to remind you of how the Sonozakis saved the village from destruction in the Dam War?"

Yanagida grinned so widely that all his remaining teeth could be seen. "I'm glad you brought that up," he said. "Perhaps you're the one who needs reminding of a few details of our village history."

"What do you mean?"

I closed my eyes. I couldn't watch this! She was playing right into his hands – they all were! He was like some kind of magician, holding them all mesmerised!

"Twenty-five years ago, the Sonozaki family united the village in the Dam War and got the dam project cancelled," said Yanagida. "But afterwards? What then?"

"_What the hell are you driving at?_"

"You enjoyed having the village united under your leadership, didn't you?" he said fiercely. "You wanted to keep it that way. You knew the villagers thought of Sonozaki Oryou-sama as a strong leader, so you continued to pretend she was still the one making the decisions, when the truth is she's now been confined to her bed for fifteen years!"

There was outcry from both sides. After a while, Mion managed to make herself heard over the hubbub. "What business is it of yours who makes the decisions in our family? We have never made any pretences about the matter. What some people choose to believe –"

"You didn't exactly go out of your way to correct them, did you?" said one of the priests.

"Silence, please," said Yanagida – and such was his magnetism, the voices died down. "That wasn't my main point. I'm sure you remember, Sonozaki-sama, that it was at the time of the Dam War that Oyashiro-sama's curse fell on the village. You knew that if there was one person the villagers trusted and revered above all others, it was Furude Rika-san, who was said to be the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama. So you arranged for her to die and come back to life, so that the villagers would believe she had saved them, and you could do what you liked because no-one would dare to speak out against the voice of Oyashiro-sama!"

There was a long silence.

"What do you mean, 'arranged'?" cried Shion. "You know it's the truth! Rika-chan saved us from Oyashiro-sama's curse!" She lifted her voice to address the crowd. "You know that, don't you?"

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes again, but it was hard to see whether the people were mostly agreeing or disagreeing with her. They were on a knife-edge, ready to tip at any moment; fists were being raised in the air, but they were still keeping back from the dispute.

"Is that so?" said Yanagida, calmly ignoring the hubbub. "Does Furude-san herself say as much?"

Everyone looked towards Rika as she detached herself from her little group and slowly hobbled forwards.

"Yanagida-san," she said, "you know that the village of Onigafuchi once had a custom of sacrificing one person to atone for the village's sins. Why did the custom come to an end? Because we came to realise that Oyashiro-sama does not, _would_ not, demand such a sacrifice!"

"Then it was all a lie?" he said with menacing quietness.

"I have never been the one telling that story. Whether the people choose to believe it is up to them."

"_Is it really?_" Yanagida snarled.

Rika stepped back at his sudden ferocity. "I... I don't understand."

And, finally, Yanagida heaved his shoulders, threw his head back and laughed. I still did not know how – but in that moment I knew that he had won.

"No," he said, "perhaps you don't! You were only a child at the time! But two people understand very well! They were quite old enough to know what they were doing!"

"What...?"

He held up a small object – too small for me to make out at that distance. "Do you know what this is?" he cried. "This is a video tape taken from the security cameras at Sonozaki Manor! It shows quite clearly that, at the time Furude-san was pretending to be dead, she was really being smuggled into hiding in the Labyrinth!" He raised his voice louder and louder so that it could still be heard over the swelling shouts of the crowd. "And who carried out this deception? _They_ did – Sonozaki Mion and Shion!" He pointed his stick straight towards the twins. "Furthermore, they were aided by an unscrupulous band of accomplices – the foreigner Maebara Keiichi, the renegade Ryuuguu Rena, and the child of Oyashiro-sama's known enemies, Houjou Satoko!"

The crowd burst into an uproar, but Yanagida threw his head up and bellowed over them, "Everything these people have done for us – their claim to be our rightful leaders – their pretence at speaking for Oyashiro-sama – _it has all been a lie!_"

Akito nearly screamed, but even that could barely be heard any more. It was a long time before any individual voices could be made out; but unsurprisingly it was Rika who first managed to cut into the tumult.

"I will _not_ allow you to malign my friend Satoko," she said firmly. "And I will not allow you to cast shadows on the memory of Maebara Keiichi, a good friend and a great man. He may have been an outsider, but he did more for this village than many people who were born here!"

The twins were both seething in anger, their faces drawn into identical demon-masks, but Mion softened hers a little as she reached out and placed a hand on Rika's shoulder.

I suddenly noticed that Akito was no longer beside me. He had broken cover and rushed out.

"_Mother!_" he cried. "What is this? Tell me this isn't true!"

"Can you doubt it, boy?" Yanagida laughed. "Just look at their faces!"

He pointed forward again. His priests had formed into a line behind him, and I got the impression that it was only their presence that now stopped the crowd from surging forward and grabbing the twins to demand an answer from them, and quite possibly Rika too.

"You wouldn't understand," said Rika. Her voice was cold, but still quiet; she was talking specifically to Yanagida, not to the crowd. "I suppose it would make no difference at this point if I told you that the deception was necessary to protect me from a group who had been operating undercover in the village for five years, waiting for an opportunity to kill me because this would prove a theory one of their bosses had about the origins of Hinamizawa Syndrome?"

"No difference at all."

"Well, it was worth a try." The two of them stared steadily at each other, as if both of them were oblivious to the confusion going on around them. The crowd were busily shouting at the twins and Satoko, and they were shouting back, with Azusa and Satoshi and the others alternating between trying to calm things down and taking part in the shouting themselves. Akito and Naoya were standing together and looking thoroughly bewildered, while Kizuna was covering her ears and looking as though she wanted to run away, and Saki was crouching by her with one hand resting on her shoulder.

"So," said Rika, "what do you want now?"

"You know that," said Yanagida. "You, and the Sonozakis, out of Hinamizawa."

"This does not concern the Sonozakis," she said, more loudly so that those at the front of the crowd could hear. "The whole plot was my idea. I take full responsibility."

"_Rika-chan!_" cried Satoko.

Rika turned to smile at her old friend. "Well, it's true, isn't it?" she said. "Nipaa!"

"And what will you do to prove that?" said Yanagida.

I covered my face in my hands. _This is about to get even worse... I just know it..._

"I will show you, and these people you have led into doubt, that I am the true voice of Oyashiro-sama. I will die for the sin I committed twenty years ago, and Oyashiro-sama will forgive me."

"And, I'm sure, you will rise from the dead again..."

"No," Rika said calmly. "I have no power to dictate whether the gods will perform a miracle for me. When I am gone, my daughter Kizuna will be the voice of Oyashiro-sama in my place – for she is also one of eight first-born girls in a row."

Kizuna turned slowly round, her mouth gaping wide in alarm. Then she rushed forward and grabbed onto her mother's skirt. "_No!_" she cried. "You can't die! Yanagida-san! You can't let this happen!"

Yanagida looked down at her with fiery eyes. "Some day, little girl," he said, "you'll have to learn that there are some problems that cannot be solved just by telling people to 'shake hands and make friends'."

The crowd had become much quieter now, as those in front whispered to those behind them, telling them what Rika had said.

"_Rika-chan!_" Satoko cried. "This isn't real, is it? You can't do this!"

"Satoko-chan." Rika smiled across to her friend and held out her hands. "Don't be sad for me. I've already lived for more years than one person should. I'm ready to move on to whatever comes next." She turned back towards Yanagida. "I ask only that you give my body to the clinic, so that my child can at least be saved."

Yanagida just nodded.

"_Stop it!_" Shion screamed. Her face was tightly screwed up as she held back her tears. "Rika-chan, you can't be serious! This... it just isn't worth it! We can go... we can pack up the family and leave Hinamizawa. It's not worth your life!"

Mion, too, was clearly struggling not to cry. "Didn't you once say," she said, "that the perfect world is one in which there are no losers?"

Rika turned and smiled sweetly at the twins. "It's all right," she said. "This is the way it has to be. Mion-chan, Shion-chan... Hinamizawa needs you. The darkest hour is not yet come. Whether the people realise it or not, even if all the world seems to be fighting against you, you have it in you to be the light that shows the way out of the darkness."

Shion screamed and slammed her foot into the ground.

Mion wrapped her arms around Rika and shook her head. "Not without you," she said.

Rika let out a small sniffle. "Thank you, Mion-chan. But you must go on. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. I believe in you."

She slipped from Mion's arms, and smiled towards Suguru, who was standing bewildered and clutching tightly onto the weeping Kizuna. "Suguru, I'm so sorry," she said.

He gulped. "I... I know it's not your fault."

"You'll take care of the baby, won't you? Satoko-chan will be there to help you..."

"I promise," he said. "Rika... what shall we name him or her?"

Rika closed her eyes with a look of deep contentment, and shook her head. "That must be for you to decide. The future is the concern of the living."

"_Rika!_" He suddenly burst into tears and threw his arms around her.

Mion glared at Yanagida. "Can't you at least wait until the child is born?"

"Oyashiro-sama does not wait," he replied. "If Furude-san can lift the curse by her sacrifice, the victims may still be restored to us alive."

"Then... when will you do it?" said Azusa.

"Tomorrow, at the first hour of darkness." He bowed to Rika. "You will be here?"

She lifted herself free from Suguru's embrace. "I will be here."

"_Yanagida!_" Everyone looked round; Akito had exploded into rage, and Azusa and Tomita had to step in and hold him back.

"You can't let him get away with this!" Akito screamed. "Don't you know what he did to make this happen? _He_ got rid of Tomitake! He made him disappear! _He killed my sister!_"

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"You don't mean –" Mion whispered.

"She's dead, I tell you!" Akito cried out. "I found her just now, in the Labyrinth! Dead – covered in blood – stabbed through the heart – wounds all up her arm" – Kizuna let out a high-pitched scream, but he ignored her – "_he_ did that, Yanagida! Kotone's dead, I tell you, and he murdered her!"

"How dare you accuse –" one of Yanagida's priests snarled.

"Please," said Yanagida. "The boy is distressed and does not know what he is saying. Sonozaki-kun, my acolytes will tell you that I have been in a prayer meeting all afternoon –"

"_Then you got one of your men to do it!_" Akito screamed. "Besides, how do you know she was killed in the afternoon, if you're so innocent?"

"Now you really are clutching at straws," Yanagida said with an angry grimace. "Clearly, Sonozaki-sensei would have noticed if her own child were not in school today."

He nodded in Shion's direction. She had collapsed into a shuddering heap; Satoko knelt by her and was doing her best to comfort her. Satoshi was weeping onto Azusa's shoulder. Mion stood frozen, an expression of shock on her face as though she still could not believe what she had heard. Rika's eyes were dark and emotionless, almost as though she had already gone to her death.

Saki was facing away, holding Kizuna tight to stop her screaming. But it was Naoya's reaction I was most interested in watching. He stood still, frowning, in a manner more suggestive of watching a scientific experiment and wondering where it had gone wrong than hearing the news of a death. Why, his mother was showing more emotion, and she must have barely known Kotone! _Damn you, you self-satisfied schemer, can't you at least pretend to have some feeling?_ Still, maybe it would have been even more despicable if he had pretended.

"_Then who the hell did it?_" Akito shouted. "Are you going to stand there and tell me it was all the curse of Oyashiro-sama, you filthy liar?"

"I did not say that," Yanagida said calmly.

_But everyone is going to think that now. And who's going to stand behind the Sonozakis if even Oyashiro-sama is against them? Nicely done, Akito-kun..._

"Rika-sama!" Akito cried desperately. "You... you believe me, don't you?"

Rika bowed her head, and a tear ran down her cheek. "Of course I believe you, my child," she said. "But I do not think Yanagida-san would do such a terrible thing."

"_How can you say that?_" he cried. "How... how can you be so damn _pure and forgiving_? Can't you see that man is evil?"

"Akito-kun," Rika said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder, "trust me. I have been a priestess of Oyashiro-sama long enough to know a little more than you about real evil."

"But... Kotone..."

"Oyashiro-sama will not let such a grievous sin go unpunished, I promise you." She glanced towards Yanagida. "In that, at least, we are agreed, I think?"

Yanagida bowed. "The child was a friend of Oyashiro-sama, and Oyashiro-sama protects those who are loyal to him." He turned to Mion. "I am sorry for your loss, Sonozaki-sama."

"_Get out,_" she said icily. "You've got what you wanted. Now leave."

"I will be back tomorrow at the first hour of darkness." He bowed, and then turned and walked away, calmly tapping his stick in front of him to ease a way through the crowd. His priests, not even bothering with the obeisance, surrounded him in a ring and walked away together.

I collapsed on the grass and cried; there was still too much commotion going on for anyone to hear me, but I hardly cared any more. This was as bad as it could possibly be! Yanagida's plan had succeeded, and either Rika would die or the Sonozakis would be removed from power. And all this was happening because I hadn't worked out the plan in time to prevent it! And now the Sonozakis were devastated by Kotone's death, so they could hardly be relied on to fight back. No – I was responsible for this situation, so I would have to do something about it! _There must be a way out... if you just think logically and don't allow yourself to panic, you'll think of something!_

I was roused from my reverie by a touch on my shoulder, and looked up to see Akito standing over me. The noise of the crowd had sunk to a sparse rustle; they had mostly gone, and the few that were left were drifting slowly away, seemingly disappointed that the spectacle was over. As for Akito, his eyes were dim and misty, but he was no longer crying.

"I'm sorry, Miaka-chan," he said brokenly, as though he had to stop after each word to remind himself how to speak.

"_You're_ sorry?" I said. "For what?"

"For blurting it out... I know I shouldn't have. Mother..."

I clambered to my feet and put an arm around him. "Akito-kun, she's just lost her daughter, and she was going to find out soon anyway. You couldn't make that pain any less."

"I know, but I shouldn't have shouted it out, and now Yanagida..."

"It's all right," I said. "Whatever else this may be, it's not your fault." Then I noticed for the first time that Kizuna was standing behind him, gazing up at me with wide eyes.

"Kizuna-chan?" I said softly.

"Miaka-san?" Her voice was faint, almost ghostly.

I glanced at Akito. "So... you've told the others?"

"That you're here?" He scowled. "What do you take me for? No, of course not. I only told Kichi, because – she has to know. We've got to work together so we can stop Yanagida and find out who killed Kotone."

I looked down at Kizuna. She just stood there frozen, staring straight ahead. Somehow, her silence wounded me to the core of my soul, even more than Akito's wild grief.

"What do you want me to do?" I snapped. (I shouldn't have snapped like that. I'm sorry.) "Go back and tell everyone that I'm alive?"

"No, that would do no good now," said Akito. "Not now that Yanagida's turned everyone against Rika-sama. We'd need another miracle now to get them back on our side."

"A miracle?"

"Yes, that's it! If you were to reappear at the last minute – it would be a sign from Oyashiro-sama that the curse is lifted! Then Rika-sama won't have to be sacrificed – we'll do it, Miaka! We'll beat Yanagida... we'll nail those bastards yet!"

He took a deep breath and then looked down at Kizuna. "How about that, Kichi?"

She burst into tears and beat her fists against the air. "What about Kotone-chan?"

Akito grimaced. "Listen, Kichi... I know we can't bring Kotone back, but we're going to make sure the person who killed her gets what they deserve, I promise you!"

"_Idiot!_"

She looked away from us and stamped her foot.

"Kichi?" Akito said weakly.

"You're both idiots!"

"What..."

She turned to face us, glaring up at us with all the fury of which that little girl was capable.

"_I know perfectly well who killed Kotone-chan! And I'm never, ever, __ever__ going to tell you!_"

And, as we both stared, she stamped her foot again, then turned and ran off into the darkness.


	14. Part I Ch 13 Nightfall

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**13  
>Nightfall<strong>

Akito and I stood together for a long time in silence. The last stragglers had now wandered away, and Rika and her group of friends had gone back inside. The shrine was silent now, except for a low-voiced wind that was slowly lifting itself awake, and the ever-present cries of the cicadas. I don't know whether it was the sudden absence of other sounds or just my imagination, but for some reason they seemed to be much louder now, as if they were busily chattering and sharing news.

"They are mourning Kotone," Akito said quietly. "They're always like this after a death."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I said nothing for a while, and then, "I should go."

Akito was staring into the darkness; he didn't look round. "Where will you go?" he said.

"I'll find somewhere. I'm not spending another night in the Labyrinth, not after..."

"You couldn't, anyway. The police will be swarming over the Manor now."

I nodded. "I'll just go camp out in the woods. I guess it'll only be one night, now..."

"Do you need me to get you a blanket or anything?"

"No, I'll survive – and it would be too much trouble for you."

"It really wouldn't be any trouble –"

"Akito," I said firmly, "your parents will be home soon, and the last thing you want is for them to think you've gone missing too."

"Yeah," he said. "I... I guess I just wish I could find a reason to put off going back home..."

"I don't blame you," I said. "Akito-kun... you'll be all right, won't you?"

"You know me," he said. "Strong, fearless leader and all that. Yeah, I'll be fine."

He clearly didn't mean it.

"Goodbye, then," I said. "And don't worry. I _know_ we'll find a way to save Rika-sama, and things will turn out all right."

And I didn't mean that either.

"Goodnight," he said.

He walked off, his head drooping and his arms swinging in wide circles. Since Kizuna had gone, he hadn't once looked at me. I stood watching him for a moment, wishing that I could run over to him and hug him; but something held me back. The feeling that I would be comforting myself more than doing anything for him, perhaps.

At last I turned and walked off into the woods. The lanterns around the courtyard made a faint glow of light that lasted as far as the first rank of trees; beyond, they melted with each other into a solid black wall. I didn't mind the darkness; it offered shelter and concealment. But I hovered apprehensively on the edge of the forest nonetheless, stepping forward cautiously as I tried to make myself adjust to the darkness, to shut out the lights of the shrine. They belonged to a world I was leaving behind, a world that had closed its doors on me. For this night, I would be the only living thing as I set out into a world of my own, pressing forward and breaking loose. I could not afford to waste any thought on looking back.

The light soon receded, and I found that I could feel my way forward a little at a time, patches of slightly less dark marking out my path. It was slow progress, but that did not matter. I just needed to get far enough away that I could not be seen, even when morning came again. It was bitterly cold, but at least the trees sheltered me from the wind; it was fully awake now, and the air was filled with the constant sound of the branches sweeping past above me, brushing against each other as they raced madly away and were soon lost to sight. I could not help shivering, and had to hug myself tightly to stop my teeth chattering; and the pain of hunger dug at the inside of my chest with sharp, raking claws. Well, it could not be helped; there would be a whole extra portion at Sonozaki Manor tonight, but I could not go back there now. I would just have to cope with the cold and the hunger as best I could, counting the minutes going by if there was nothing else I could do, until they became less and less and at last the night would pass. I had come to feel that everything depended on tomorrow, on whether we succeeded in preventing Yanagida from killing Rika. If the enemy failed in that, they could have no further reason to kill me, except sheer malice; but the Sonozakis would protect me, once the time came for me to reveal myself. So, I just had to get through this one last night.

After a while I stopped, and lay myself down among the ferns. I had gone far enough; this would be as good a place as any to rest. I would surely not be able to sleep, but that did not matter. So long as I got a little rest, that should be enough for all that I needed to do tomorrow.

It was an unquiet night. The minutes dragged on, and the wood gradually lightened around me as the moon rose higher. The rattling and cracking of the upper branches went on without a break, only a short pause now and then for the wind to get its breath back. Small creatures scampered through the undergrowth, and the owls were out hunting, calling to each other in soft, melancholy whistles. Dark clouds gathered beyond Hinamizawa in the north, drifting across the moon but never covering it, for it always found a way to shine through, making a sort of golden ring in the sky, with shadows gliding across it so that the light was constantly shifting. It was beautiful; at any other time I would have _loved_ a night like this. It never gets this dark in the city; you can never get that feeling of complete solitude, of having the world to yourself when everything else is asleep. There is always _something_ that breaks the mood, whether it is a constant haze in the distance or the sudden brightness of a car roaring past. But here, there was nothing –

_Wait, what was that?_

Some way off, coming from the direction of the village, there had been an unmistakable flash of light! There it was again. It flashed from one side to the other, searching and scanning. Someone was shining a torch into the woods! I quickly got up and stood watching it, preparing myself, getting ready to move. Was this someone looking for me? It had to be; what else could it be? The light was still moving from side to side, and it was coming steadily closer.

And then a voice. It was unfamiliar, the voice of a man, speaking low.

"You're sure this is where you saw her?"

I peered intently, shielding my eyes from the sharp brightness of the torch as I tried my best to make out the person holding it – and whomever he was talking to. I could just see a silhouette lurking between the trees, moving very slightly – and then it shifted just enough that I could see there were two people, the second standing diffidently behind the first. He or she, whoever it was, was not very much smaller than the man, so it could not possibly be Kizuna...

_Akito, then? Surely... he couldn't have betrayed me, after everything we've been through?_

But Yanagida's words came back to me: "The boy is distressed and does not know what he is saying." I scowled and took a deep breath. _Come on, Miaka, you're not going to trust that creep over Akito, are you?_

And yet, the man was there... _someone_ had told him where to find me...

_It could be anyone. I didn't exactly keep myself well hidden, back there at the shrine. Anyone might have seen me talking with Akito._

_ I really hope I haven't gotten Akito into trouble..._

They were coming closer, slowly, methodically. I had to decide. Should I stay where I was and keep silent, hoping they missed me, or should I run and risk making a noise? At least, if they should try to run after me, I felt fairly confident I could outrun them. I've always done well on the track team at school, and I'm especially good in mountainous terrain. True, I don't have much experience of running at night, but that would be an equal disadvantage to us both. The main worry would be the risk of running into a sudden dip or cliff and being unable to see it coming.

Still undecided, I continued to peer towards the figures, straining my eyes as I tried to see enough of the second person to make a better guess at who it was. For some reason, it felt as if that would make all the difference. But I could not; he was keeping close behind the first man, so close that I could no longer be completely sure that there really were two of them.

_It's almost as if he knows I'm watching and doesn't want me to see him... so it must be someone I would recognise at once..._

_ Naoya? But then... that means the man is one of the enemy!_

Then the light of the torch stopped moving, and tilted slowly downwards. I caught my breath sharply. _He's seen something on the ground! A footprint, perhaps? But... then he'll know I'm here, and he'll keep looking until he finds me! I've just got to run!_

_First let me get some distance away, so they won't hear me running..._

I slipped between the trees as quietly as I could, horribly conscious of every tiny sound I was making, the splash of puddles under my feet, the snapping of twigs and the rustling of ferns. They all sounded so loud – I had to remind myself that they were right next to my ears, and the man would not hear them from where he was.

A circle of light appeared on a tree right in front of me.

I stepped back and to the side, out of the way of the beam. _It was so close!_ The cold blue light streamed right past me, so close that I could see the dust glistening in it. I stopped dead. Should I try to slip around the back of a tree so that I could get away, or should I wait and hope the beam moved away from me? I had to decide –

"Who's there?" the man called out sharply.

_Just run!_

I took off rapidly, not directly away from the man but a little to the side. It was hard going; my legs took a scraping from the dense undergrowth, and I had to keep my head low to avoid the many overhanging branches, just hoping desperately that I didn't run headlong into a tree or stumble into a dip in the ground. But my luck held, at least until I had to stop to get my breath back. I glanced behind me. I could still just about see the torchlight glinting somewhere in the darkness. It was not noticeably coming closer; perhaps the man was a bit more put off than I had been by the undergrowth in the way. But he was not nearly far enough away yet. I had to press on.

The ground was sloping upwards, so I could not see very far ahead of me, but I kept going. I was not running any more; I might still need to save my strength. But even keeping a steady pace, I was tiring fast, and the scratches on my leg hurt like hell. One of them had cut deep. I couldn't see the wound, but it was probably bleeding, and that would only make it easier for my pursuers to find me. At last, the ground became level again, and I lifted myself up and peered ahead into the blackness –

A light was shining somewhere ahead of me. No, not just one. There were at least three, and they were coming closer! Had the first man alerted them? And how had they gotten ahead of me so fast? They must already have been stationed in the woods, and that could only mean – it had to be the people who were searching for me, the Sonozakis and their henchmen. _Damn! Aren't we on the same side now?_ But they didn't know that – and I couldn't tell them! I just had to slip past them somehow and keep running...

I cut to the side, trying to move around them in a wide circle. The lights, now away to my right, were moving apart; the men were splitting up so as to cover more ground. I had to move faster. My strength was failing, and my head felt very heavy, but I had to push myself, had to get well out of the way before they came close enough to see me. One of the men was heading pretty much straight towards me, and I saw shards of his beam faintly glisten on the trees around me, first one and then another. _Just keep calm... that doesn't mean he's seen me, not yet..._

I slowed down again; he was too close now, and if I tried to run, I was sure he would see or hear me. I kept low, trying to leave as little visible as I could. Somehow, I had to sneak past his beam, and then I would be free to run again. I crouched and watched for a while. The beam was shimmering through the air right in front of me, moving slowly from side to side, and occasionally dipping and rising. I edged a little bit closer, and then flattened myself against a tree, on the side away from him. Now, if only he would move the beam back past the tree and behind me!

I waited for a few moments that seemed to last for ever. I was staring ahead, watching every movement just in case there should be a chance for me to slip past. Then, from somewhere ahead of me and to the left, there came _another_ flash of light.

_Damn – how many men have they got searching these woods? So many in this small part, and they must be spread throughout the woods, as well. Why do they have to be so damn persistent? Does it give them some kind of satisfaction to see me squirming like this? I've got to move, or I'm going to end up being surrounded!_

There was more than one light coming from that direction, and they were moving rapidly. I had to get out, somehow get past the beam ahead of me before they arrived. I waited, but it didn't seem that it was ever going to move past me. On the contrary, it was moving further away – _there!_ There was another tree, further ahead, that I might be able to slip behind. Well, the chance might not come again if I didn't take it now. I scurried forward as quickly as I dared – the beam started to turn back towards me – I threw myself forward and into the shadow of the tree, only just in time. Yet I couldn't be sure whether the man might not have seen _something_, a vague shadow sliding through the haze. He didn't cry out, but the beam was keeping close to me now, cutting and probing. He must have known I was there. Perhaps if I kept still, he would assume he had made a mistake. I just had to wait for the beam to move behind me again –

I couldn't wait much longer. The lights approaching from the left were growing rapidly as they came closer; any second now, they would turn into beams and I would be caught smack in the middle of them. The other beam faded for a moment, and then appeared again behind me. Now, if it just moved a little further away, I might have a chance –

_Now!_ I had to just run for it, trusting to luck, running as fast as I could. I think one of the men on the left must have seen something, for one of the lights swivelled round. I had to dodge it! I changed course and ran to the right. He was too far away to hear any noise I made. But the other man must have heard me. "Stop!" he cried. "Over there! After her!"

He swung his torch round after me, and I heard the sounds of snapping twigs and rustling leaves as he started to chase me, but I was away into the woods, too fast for him to find me again. The ground was beginning to rise again. There couldn't be any more of them still further ahead, could there? I would just have to get as far away as I could manage, and then hope they gave up the search so that I could manage to get back to the village in the morning.

I kept on running for a while longer, until at last I just had to stop again and collapse, panting for breath and aching all over. My sides felt like they were ready to cave in at any second, and my neck was so stiff that it was hard to lift my head. I risked a glance behind me. That was odd; I couldn't see the lights of the torches at all. Had they given up already?

Then, from deep inside the woods, there came the barking of a dog.

_Oh, of course._ That would be what they would naturally do next. Probably the first man I had encountered had gone back to the village to get it started on my trail. I closed my eyes for a moment to gather my strength; I felt so weary that I didn't know how I would manage to move at all, and yet somehow I knew that I could keep going if I really pushed myself. Then I heard the dog cry loudly as it caught the trail, and one of the men shout after it as it took off towards me. My leg was really sore now, but I hurried on as fast as I could manage.

It was hard to get used to the darkness again after the light of the torches, but I could still press cautiously forward, threading my way through the trees. I couldn't run any more, but there would have been no point in running even if I could; I would only wear out my last reserves of energy too fast. I could not outrun the dog in any case. It was coming closer, barking furiously, very close now. I would just have to let it reach me, and then –

I came to a stop. The dog was right behind me now. Well, I had no choice. I turned around, dropped back against a tree, and waited.

There was a sudden movement in the undergrowth, and the leaves slid apart as something huge and black burst out of them. I could only just make out the outlines of its form, two hollow circles for the eyes, and the drool glistening from its mouth. It stared at me, and I stared back. I wasn't going to let it see any fear. Then it snapped its jaw and lunged towards me, and I swivelled to the side and struck at it with my knife. Not deep enough; I had only scratched it. It turned and leapt up at me, its mouth gaping wide and showing icicles of teeth. I clenched my hand tightly around the knife and put all the strength I could muster into the blow, striking down and ramming it into the side of the dog's throat –

Then a soft thud, followed by silence. _I had done it!_ Not exactly much of a fight, but I still felt a huge sense of relief – not just relief, but elation in my power. _That_ would give the Sonozakis something to think about! Perhaps they would think twice about continuing to give chase, knowing that I was armed and could kill one of them just as easily –

_I couldn't really, could I?_

Well, I could in the physical sense, and that should be enough to make them wary of me. Whether I could actually drive myself to kill a man if I had to... I suppose, if I really had to, I could do it. Not just to save my own life, but because I had knowledge that no-one else had, knowledge that might be vital in saving Rika and bringing Kotone's killers to justice. I was _important_. If it came to a choice, I _knew_ that my life was worth more than one of the enemy –

I winced as the scene came back to me, the knife in my hand as I drove it into Mother's heart, that exact same feeling of elation –

_But this is different, isn't it? They really are the enemy this time..._

_Yes, but that's what I thought before. Is that what Hinamizawa Syndrome really is... that sense of importance, of you against the enemy? But then... have I still got the Syndrome after all?  
><em>

_Stop it! I've got to keep my senses. They got rid of Tomitake; I didn't imagine that. They're trying to kill me._

_Then maybe they're the ones who have Hinamizawa Syndrome... maybe this is all a misunderstanding...  
><em>

I shook my head. I had no time to waste thinking about this. I had to move on again; they would catch up with me soon enough. Much better if I never had to find out whether I could bring myself to kill one of them! I stood up and shook myself, and then took off again through the trees.

No more sounds came from behind me. Soon afterwards, the trees came to a stop, and ahead of me was a rocky cliff. I took a deep breath. If I could just get up to the top of this, then I really _would_ be safe from them. I don't know _what_ my class teacher back in Kyoto would have said if he'd known I was about to try climbing a cliff in unfamiliar territory, by moonlight, with no equipment! But I had no time to think about that now. I ran my hands over the rock, searching for places where I could get a firm grip on it, and then lifted myself onto the first step. Just so long as I kept a tight grip and didn't panic –

I hauled myself up; the cliff was very steep, and the steps were too narrow for me to rest comfortably. I could feel my feet slipping, trying to give way and drag me down with them. The only way to stop myself falling was to keep pushing myself upwards as quickly as I could.

How high was this cliff, anyway? I didn't like to think about how far up I must already have come. The wind was growing stronger around me as I got higher, tugging at me and trying to prise me away from the rock. I felt desperately for another handhold, and must have fooled myself for a moment into thinking I could get a grip where really I couldn't, and now my fingers were slipping –

_I mustn't panic._ I quickly lowered one hand, back to the last safe place I had found. I was all off balance now, and it ached horribly; my shoulder was trying to tear itself loose from my arm. I pressed my leg into the rock, trying to hold on just long enough that I could reach upwards again –

_There._ I'd found the right place this time. I breathed a deep sigh of relief; but I couldn't afford to relax yet, not until I was safe on solid ground once more. I lifted myself up – and up – and then at last I felt my hand resting on a flat ledge, and I hauled myself onto it, and it wasn't a ledge, it was the actual top of the cliff. I had made it!

I rolled over, away from the edge of the cliff, and lay flat on the ground and didn't move for a long time. _I was safe!_ Even if the men reached the cliff and guessed I had gone up, they were hardly going to climb after me in the dark. It wasn't a matter of life or death for them. Mind you, they would know roughly where I was now, and so I ought to move on again, but not just yet. I'd earned a little rest.

The night was silent now, and the sky above me was still and peaceful. I loved looking at the stars; they gave me a wonderful feeling of distance, of being out in a world that had so much still to explore. Already, the chase I had just gone through felt like a thrilling adventure, and I had almost forgotten how terrifying it had been when I was caught up in the middle of it, not knowing whether I would find a way out. There, I had rested enough for now. I could get up and walk; so long as I didn't have to run again, and didn't put too much weight on my injured leg, I felt that I could walk for miles.

The terrain around me was rocky, with no trees close by, but in the distance the woods continued, a black band stretching all around me and covering the hills as far as I could see. If I looked down beyond the cliff, I could just make out Hinamizawa in the distance, a vague patch of softer grey through which the white ribbon of the river curved silently. I knew where I was now. If I followed the line of the cliff in one direction, I would come onto the main road, and I didn't want that. I knew that I _could_ just walk away, get to the road and hitch-hike to the nearest town – even at night, there would be the occasional car going past. I could go into an all-night petrol station, explain my situation, beg them to let me use their telephone, call my parents and get them to pick me up, drive away into the night and never go anywhere near Hinamizawa again.

But I wasn't going to. My destiny and the destiny of the village were now inextricably linked. I owed it to Kotone to stay – to all of them. Perhaps Oyashiro-sama had even arranged for me to attack my parents so that I should be brought to Hinamizawa... I smiled and shook my head. Now I was just getting fanciful. Still, the night was so quiet that a whisper could be carried through the air, and an attentive ear might just pick it up. I knelt, facing Hinamizawa, and closed my eyes and prayed.

"Oyashiro-sama, I don't know whether you have any special plan for me... but I want you to know that whatever it is you need of me, I'm willing to do it, in gratitude for your hospitality and for healing my wounded spirit."

I got up and walked along the line of the cliff, but keeping away from the edge, going away from the main road until I reached the dam site. This would be a good place to spend the rest of the night; the sound of running water was calm and soothing, and the derelict walls would shelter me if the wind rose again. I found a patch of grass and ferns that would be soft enough, and lay down. I was still cold and hungry, but so tired that in spite of that, I felt it wouldn't be at all surprising if I were just to close my eyes and fall asleep.


	15. Part I Ch 14 The Last Twist of the Knife

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**14  
>The Last Twist of the Knife<strong>

The sun was high in the sky when I woke the next morning, but it was hidden behind a thick bank of clouds. As I had noticed during the night, the darkest clouds were gathered in the north in particular, blocking out a good portion of the sky. Over Hinamizawa, there was still some light, but it was pale and ghostly, leaving the village drained of its usual colours. There seemed to be very few people about. The village might have been asleep, or else a child's model lying unused in the cupboard. I shook my head sadly. Once I might have stood here and watched Hinamizawa sleeping with a contented smile, knowing that the day would come and it would burst into life again, but no longer. It would never be the same without Kotone; her death had touched everyone. The shadow that was spreading over Hinamizawa as the dark clouds floated closer was a feeble mockery of the real shadow that had already covered the village, lying heavy on its soul. I shivered. For a June morning, this was beastly cold.

I cleaned my knife in the river and examined the wound on my leg. It was not too serious after all, though it still hurt sharply when I touched it. There was a little blood on my sleeve, but nothing that anyone was really likely to notice. I shook my head. One thing was for certain, and that was that my friends in Kyoto would _never_ believe me when I told them about my adventures!

The old dam site looked rather forlorn as I left it behind me, its walls cracked and fading, still standing up strong against the wind even though they knew that they would never now have any purpose. Something that looked like a radio aerial stuck up above one of the walls, proudly defiant against the unceasing siege of time. The river ran between them, wild and free, and a lone bird wandered around the site searching for food. There was nothing more to do here, no reason to linger, so I set off back to Hinamizawa by the main path. I didn't want to risk going through the woods again; that would be where they would be looking for me.

The wind was calm now, and the air had become very quiet. Even as I drew closer to the village, there were none of the usual daytime noises, no sounds of people walking about and greeting each other. I paused just before I reached the first houses, to make up my mind what to do next. I had to get to Sonozaki Manor, to meet up with Akito and Kizuna; surely they wouldn't have gone to school as normal after Kotone's death! In a little village like this where everyone knew everyone, they would most likely close the whole school to give everyone some time to recover from the shock. To get to the Manor, I could either go through the woods or through the village – and after what had happened last night, I rather felt that the village would be the safer option. By now, I must have looked very different from the Teramachi Miaka who disappeared from the Irie Clinic three days earlier. Not just because of my hair; my clothes were grimy from the tunnels, torn from the chase through the woods, and darkened here and there by traces of blood. I could be anyone; there must be dozens of girls working on the neighbouring farms whose clothes looked like this. If one of the enemy should run into me in the street – simply walking through the village as though I had nothing to fear from being seen there was the best disguise of all.

I didn't go by the most direct route; that would take me past the shrine, and I was worried that Yanagida's men might be busy there, setting things up for their own festival. Poor Rika... she must have had a very troubled night. I frowned; it might have been some comfort to her if I'd told Kizuna to let her know that I was here, that I was determined to save her. Still, it would be time to reveal myself soon enough now; there was no point in regretting what was past.

Instead, I went a little closer to the centre of the village, until I reached the route we took when going between Sonozaki Manor and the school. This route was a pleasant and quiet walk, as it avoided the shopping streets by going around the back of the water mill that stood over the stream running through the village. Behind the mill was a picturesque wooden bridge, and beyond this, an empty field, and beyond the field, a gate that opened onto part of the Sonozaki estate.

As I crossed the bridge, I saw that there were three people standing in front of the gate. I stopped for a moment and waited; then all three of them started to walk slowly across the field towards me, moving together as one. I just carried on over the bridge; there was nowhere to hide, and I had had enough of running. I didn't know yet whether they were the enemy or not. Then, as I reached the other side of the bridge and they came out from the shadows of the trees into what little sunlight there was, I saw that it was Akito, Naoya and Saki. Akito's posture was drooping, his head hanging heavily, making Naoya (who was in the middle) appear slightly taller than him; but all three of them looked grim and emotionless, the warmth of those days when we had played club games together long since drained out of them.

I walked forward until we were close enough to talk comfortably, and then stopped; they stopped at almost exactly the same moment. "G... good morning," I said, keeping my eyes focused on Naoya in particular. _You are not getting the better of me, you creep! I'll be polite to you for now, so as not to upset Akito any further, but I can still see right through you and your schemes!_

"Good morning, Miaka-san," said Naoya. He did not bow either. _Well, at least he's not pretending that things are normal between us, or he wouldn't use the formal "-san". Good. That means I don't need to pretend that things are normal either._

"You don't seem to be surprised to see me," I said, meeting his grim frown with one of my own. "I suppose Akito-kun told you that I'm still in the village."

Naoya nodded.

"_Why_, Miaka?" Saki blurted out. "How could you do that to us? We were all trying to hold out our hands to you!"

I bit into my lip and turned away from her. What could I say now? I certainly wasn't going to tell her about my suspicion of Naoya, not when he was right there. But I don't think I could have told her in any case. She would never have accepted it.

"Well?" Naoya said coldly. "Aren't you going to answer Saki-chan?"

I sighed. "Saki-chan, I'm really sorry..."

She looked up at me with a sudden, and very sharp, glare of pure hatred. "_Liar!_"

Naoya put a hand on her shoulder to hold her back.

"Akito-kun," I said quietly, "how much did you tell them about –"

Akito instantly looked away, as though he could not bring himself to look at me.

"Leave Akito-kun out of this," said Naoya. "Look at me, Miaka-san."

I looked him steadily in the eyes, trying hard not to let him see how much I hated him.

"I was visiting the clinic last night," he said in the same cold tone. "Kasai-san came in to ask Irie-sensei to look at an injury above his knee. He said he had tripped and fallen downstairs."

I said nothing. What happened between me and Kasai was none of Naoya's business, and I had no desire whatever to explain it to him.

Naoya paused, as if to see whether I was going to react, and then went on, "Irie-sensei took one look at his injury and told him he'd have to come up with a better story than that."

I still said nothing. I understood this: he was pretending to know more than he really did, in order to frighten me into confessing. I wasn't going to fall for that one so easily.

"The wound was clearly made with a knife," said Naoya. "And not just that. The wound was a very unusual shape, like two lines coming together. The knife that made it must have had a slight curve at the very tip of its blade. Knives of that design haven't been made for three-quarters of a century. It's not exactly the sort of thing a common street thug would carry. But... Sonozaki Oryou-sama has one."

Akito was still looking steadily away. _Damn it._ I'd fallen right into Naoya's trap. Because I'd not told Akito about the Kasai incident, Naoya had gotten in with the story first and used it to turn him against me. Now I couldn't rely on any of them! I should have known all along that Akito wouldn't believe me about Naoya. If only I could respond with some solid proof of his treachery... but I had nothing. I was beaten.

"I asked Akito-kun where Oryou-sama keeps her kaiken," Naoya went on remorselessly. "We looked there, and it was gone. So we went to ask Oryou-sama if she knew when she had last touched it. And do you know what?" He was so good at hiding his emotions; his eyes showed no glint of triumph as, for example, Yanagida's would have done. "She said she had given it to _you_."

I scowled at him. _That was __after__ I wounded Kasai, you bastard! How very cunning of you to twist it to your advantage._ But there was no point in explaining all this; it was clear that the others were won over to Naoya's side now.

"Is that true, Miaka?" Naoya said after a silence.

"Yes," I said quietly.

Akito turned further away from me and let out a sob.

Naoya took a long breath, and then continued. "Then I went into the police station this morning. They wouldn't let me see... Kotone-chan's body." Even he winced a little at the name. "But Kumagai-san showed me photos of the body lying in the tunnel. Including close-ups." He gazed at me, still with the same blank expression. "The wounds in her arm had that same characteristic nick to them. They were made by the same knife."

He was shaking a little, struggling to hold himself steady. _Well, good, I'm glad you don't find this easy!_

I held my breath –

"_You_ killed Kotone-chan, Miaka."

Akito remained motionless. He'd known this was coming. Naoya must have told him and Saki already, poisoned their minds against me. I no longer tried to hide my rage. I glared at him and ground my teeth together and wished I could have sunk them deep into his lying throat and torn it out. _How __dare__ you use Kotone's death as a weapon, you sick bastard? Have you no shame at all?_

Saki jumped out and punched me in the stomach. "How could you do it, Miaka?" she cried. "How could you?"

"I didn't..."

"You don't remember killing her?" Naoya said quietly.

"_I didn't kill her! I swear I didn't!_"

"Miaka-chan...," Akito said quietly. He was still facing away. It was the first time he had spoken, and his voice showed all too clearly what he had gone through since last night – long sleepless hours, tormented by a ghost who was trying so hard to reach out to him, and yet could not make contact.

I moved towards him. I wanted to grab hold of him and make him look me in the eyes, so that he could _see_ that I couldn't have done this. But Naoya thrust out an arm and held me firmly by the shoulder. I pushed him away.

"You can't believe this!" I cried. "You know I would never..."

"Look at me, Miaka," said Naoya.

I screwed my face up into a glare of seething fury.

"I don't think you _intended_ to kill Kotone-chan..."

"Oh, really? That's very nice of you! I'm glad you've decided to be nice to me!"

"_Listen to me_," he said. "I think that what happened was that your Hinamizawa Syndrome got the better of you for a while. That would be why you can't remember any of what happened..."

"You could say that about anything!" I cried. "You could make people believe anything, if all you've got to do is say I can't remember it! I know what I saw, and I found Kotone in the tunnel and she was already dead!"

"But your memory could be playing tricks on you," said Naoya. "You were so horrified by what you'd done that you blotted it out..."

"_Stop this!_" I shouted. "Why are you doing this? Haven't you tortured me enough already?"

"I?" Naoya said, raising his eyebrows. "Miaka-san, what are you talking about?"

"That newspaper!" I shrieked. "You and Irie-sensei, plotting to kill me! What about the knife on the pillow, which one of you did that?"

He looked at me blankly. "Miaka-san," he said, "_I don't know what you're talking about._ All of this is just your Hinamizawa Syndrome – your mind playing tricks on you!"

"No..." I faded back, looking for a way out. But Akito caught sight of my movement and kept pace with me, blocking me from running away. But I had to run! Naoya had convinced the others, and there wasn't anything I could do – I _couldn't_ prove that any of it was real! All I had to offer as evidence was my memories, and if they refused to trust those...

Naoya was advancing towards me, hands stretched wide and ready to take hold of me –

"_No!_" I screamed. "_It's a lie!_"

Saki looked up at me, her eyes quivering in terror. _She was afraid of me_ – damn that devil Naoya! I felt as though my heart was about to snap open, seeing that look on her face where there should have been a sweet, mischievous smile – and worse, knowing that it was because of me. _Saki-chan, why do you believe him?_ This thing she was afraid of, whatever it was that she saw as she looked at me – that just wasn't me! I could not possibly have hurt Kotone in such a way. Those wounds – someone must have stabbed her again and again, blind to the agony in her eyes and deaf to her screaming. What sort of monster could possibly do that, I had no idea, but –

_But I did that to Mother..._

I closed my eyes and felt a silent scream run through me as the scene played itself out in my memory once more, but more vivid now, as if every detail had been stored, just waiting for the right trigger to unlock it. I was looking straight into Mother's eyes as they opened wide and froze, a look of terror stamped upon them, at the moment my knife entered her heart. I watched and felt a new sensation thrill through my body, the delicious feeling of _power_, just as I had felt when I killed the dog. As I relived that moment, remembering the steady swing of my shoulders as I drove the knife into her again and again – but I should have known something was wrong, I _couldn't_ have stabbed her that many times, or she really would have died – the eyes became the red eyes of a demon, wreathed in black fire and glinting at me through the darkness. Where was I? This wasn't my home! I flinched back to avoid its glare, and felt a rocky wall behind me, and all at once I knew I was in the tunnels again. In a moment I had turned, and I was madly running and I couldn't escape and I had nowhere to run and I had to stand up and fight, had to strike into the darkness, and the first cry of pain was a surge of relief just to knew that I could hurt this thing, this demon, and I struck and twisted my knife and mustered up all my strength and pushed it away from me, threw my shoulder back and then drove the knife into it one last time with all the power I had in me –

And then the scene in front of my eyes changed again, and the black smoke of its breath was a black shadow in the tunnel, and its eyes were brown and soft with water, and Kotone stared up at me as she tried desperately to understand why it hurt so much –

_No! This isn't real... of course I didn't kill her! I mustn't let Naoya fool me..._

I covered my face with my hands for a moment as the images swarmed past me, and then looked up again. Naoya, Akito and Saki were all standing in front of me, all looking terrified, and there was another sudden gap in my memory. I must have said something, but I didn't know what!

"What... what just happened?" I faltered.

"Miaka-san," Naoya said slowly, "please calm down..."

"What's happening?" I said. "What are you going to do to me?"

He and Akito glanced at each other.

"We'll take you to Irie-sensei," said Naoya.

"_Never!_" I shrieked. "Don't you understand, he's trying to kill me!"

Naoya was breathing deeply. "Miaka-san, _please_. Irie-sensei wouldn't kill you or hurt you. We just want you to be cured..."

"Is that really want you want?" I snapped. I turned to Akito. "You! You can't pretend you don't want to kill me, after what I did to your sister..."

"So you really did do it," Saki whispered.

I ignored her. "Well?" I cried. "You haven't even spoken yet! Talk to me, you hypocrite!"

Akito was shaking so much he could barely look up and meet my eyes. "Miaka," he said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Please... just let us take you to Irie-sensei. I... I know you're a good person at heart, Miaka. We really don't want to kill you. That wouldn't bring Kotone back. We just want you to be cured, and then... we can move on..."

"_It's a lie!_" I screeched. "You, Naoya, step away from me! You plotted all this! You just want to get me to the clinic so I can be killed, or else hidden away for years like Satoshi-san! You arranged all this – how do I know you didn't kill Kotone yourself so you could make it look like I did it?"

"_Stop it!_" Saki shouted across me.

We both stood glaring at each other, flexing our limbs. At any second, either of us might have sprung on the other, but just then –

"_Akito-san! Naoya-san!_"

We all looked round. Kizuna was running across the field towards us as fast as she could, heaving and swinging her arms wildly to try to give herself a bit more speed.

"Kichi-chan, what is it?" Naoya said weakly.

"_You've got to come! They're going to kill Mother!_"

"_What!_" Naoya cried. "But... that wasn't till this evening!"

Kizuna skidded to a halt close by us and panted for breath, but she lifted her head and forced herself to go on. "No! Yanagida said the first hour of darkness!"

"Yes?" Naoya looked thoroughly confused. "Evening, darkness, what's the difference?"

"_Are you blind?_" she shrieked. "Just _look!_"

She pointed upwards, but we didn't need to look at the sky to know what she meant. We hadn't noticed it until that moment, but while we had been talking, the clouds had been spreading over Hinamizawa, layer upon layer, growing thicker and darker. This was no ordinary storm; this was a blackness out of Mordor, so dark that wherever the clouds covered, no light came through at all. Already, if we looked to the north we could see the mountains covered by a shadow that turned it into a lifeless painting of a landscape, browns and greys so angry that one suspected the artist was painting it as a form of self-therapy.

"Yanagida says it's a sign from Oyashiro-sama! They're getting everything ready – they're going to kill her _now_!"

Akito and Naoya stood frozen in shock. Saki looked frantically back and forth from one of them to the other. "_Come on!_" she cried. "We've got to go! What are you waiting for?"

"Miaka...," Akito said brokenly.

"Come with us to the clinic," said Naoya.

"_No!_ You'll never get me to go to that place!"

"Why won't you let us help you?"

"You're not trying to help me! You just want me locked up! You know I didn't –" My eyes lighted on Kizuna. Surely, even if Naoya had persuaded the others to side with him, he wouldn't dare to use Kizuna in that way? And she had seemed so sure that she _knew_ who killed Kotone...

But then... she had also said that she would never tell who did it... was _this_ what she meant?

"Kizuna," I whispered, "is this true? Did I...?"

Silently, Kizuna looked up at me and nodded.

"_No!_" I shrieked, and hid my face in my hands again; but I could not stop myself seeing that scene, more real and more vivid each time – the fear in Kotone's eyes, the feel of the knife in my hand, the dull thud and squelch as it struck her – again and again and again and again –

_I really did kill her... the enemy I've been looking for all this time was me..._

_I should have known. I knew the killer couldn't have vanished into thin air, but Akito was blocking the other exit...  
><em>

_ Really, though, I should have known right from the beginning. Ever since I attacked Mother, I've been trying to hide from what I've done... from what I've become..._

"Miaka," Naoya said. He was advancing towards me, with outstretched hands – Akito and Saki were closing in on me from the sides, their faces cold and emotionless. No pity. No warmth. They were moving towards me like zombies. I would soon have nowhere left to run –

"_Get away from me!_" I cried, whipping out the knife and flicking it forward at Naoya. I honestly wasn't going to hurt him, just frighten him a little, warn him to stay away from me, give myself that little bit more time so I could run for it –

There was a sudden cry, a cry that reverberated madly between my ears until it filled my brain, and Naoya fell back with a look of wide-eyed surprise, and it was Saki who stood in front of me, glaring at me with all her passionate fury, and the knife dug into her throat, and instinctively I pulled it back as though that could somehow make the wound close up again, when of course it only opened it wider, and her eyelids fluttered and her mouth hung open as her cry faded away into a whisper, and the blood was coming out of her like a fountain, enough blood to keep a man alive for years spewing out of her in seconds, and she gasped and shuddered as she strained to force a few words out with all that was left of her voice –

"_Please... don't hurt him..._"

And she crumpled and pitched forward, one last splash of blood running all the way down my blouse, and she landed on her knees, trembling as she fought desperately to hold herself together, but there was no way, not after an injury like that –

And Kizuna threw herself down to catch Saki in her arms, and tilted her head back and let out a scream such as I had never heard, a scream that filled the air and seemed to echo back from the sky, a scream that seemed to turn the world around it to dust and fragments of colour, and if I closed my eyes, even for a moment, I could _see_ it, a horrible pulsating white that was all around me everywhere I turned, a scream you could never forget because it just kept going on in the memory as though time itself had stopped at that moment.

Naoya had landed on the ground with a thud, and Akito and I were left to stand staring at each other; and suddenly I couldn't meet his gaze, didn't want to know how much he hated me, and I was running, running madly across the field as the darkness swept over the village and closed in all around me. I couldn't look back; I couldn't even think about Akito and the others as they lay broken behind me; Akito was shouting out my name, barely audible over the echoes of Kizuna's scream, but I had closed my ears. But then I found that there was one voice I could not block out, a voice that seemed to keep pace with me as if it was running invisible alongside me, a voice that was certainly not mine repeating again and again the words I could no longer speak –

"_I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!_"

I ran on.

Oyashiro-sama, if you can hear me – was it you who sent me that newspaper? Did you want to let me know what had to be done as retribution for my sins, so that I would have the chance to accept my fate and not try to run from it? I'm sorry that I ignored that warning. But I want you to know – I'm not trying to run away any more. If this is truly my destiny, I will rush forward and meet it with welcoming arms.

There's just one more thing I would ask of you, Oyashiro-sama. I know that I cannot erase my sins; I will die hated and cursed, just as I deserve. But I want to have the chance to do just one good thing before I die, so that at least I will know that I learned something from the trials I was put through. And yes, maybe there is an element of self-pleasing in it; maybe I want people to know that I'm not all bad, I would like something that can be put to my name to stand alongside the dismal record of my sins. But that's not the main reason I want this. I want to do this for _you_, O mighty Oyashiro-sama, to repay as much as I can of the debt I owe you.

_I have to save Rika._


	16. Part I Ch 15 Destiny

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa I – Predestination Chapter**

**15  
>Destiny<strong>

By the time I reached the shrine, the sky was so dark that nothing could be seen at all, except a small ring of grim red light where the courtyard was illuminated by the rows of lanterns around it, each one a tiny flickering flame that fought back desperately as the darkness pounded against it. Yanagida and his priests were gathered in the centre around a stone platform that had been set up for the sacrifice – it had not been there the night before. And around this tableau, the villagers stood huddled in their hundreds, keeping a respectful distance but peering forward with keen anticipation. Little could be seen of them except their black shapes and shadowed faces, the fire of the lanterns reflected in tiny red points in the centres of their eyes. All individuality, all humanity had gone from them; these were the real demons of Hinamizawa! This was what they really were under the surface – what we all really were, for I was a demon just like them, I knew that now.

Yanagida lifted himself onto the platform and stretched his hands out to the sky as he addressed the crowd, while one of his priests held onto his stick for him.

"O great Oyashiro-sama who have blessed us with this sign of your sacred presence," he chanted, "we pray that you receive the sacrifice we are about to give you! We who have strayed from your ways now stand before you, humble and repentant. We beg for your forgiveness! Let the clouds roll back and bless our village with your sacred light once more!"

The crowd were shifting, shuffling each other like grains of sand in a timer, opening up a path towards the gate. And through the gate I now saw Rika stumbling awkwardly towards them, heaving herself forward as fast as she could manage, supported by Irie-sensei of all people. _So you've shown your true colours at last, you treacherous snake!_ I clenched a fist and glared at him from where I was crouching, invisible in the shadows. But it was not time to show myself yet.

As Rika stepped out through the front line of the crowd and into the centre of the courtyard, a great cry rose up all around her, and Yanagida's priests threw up their hands and chanted, encouraging the cries to swell. The people were jeering horribly; I could not make out too many individual words, but I certainly heard shouts of "Kill her!" and "Down with the witch!"

Rika stopped and drew an exhausted breath. "Yanagida-san," she said, glancing up, "is it necessary to make quite so much noise? You're disturbing the baby."

Yanagida just grinned, and drew from the folds of his robe a long, sharp knife, holding it up so that the blade shone red in the light of the lanterns.

"O great Oyashiro-sama," he roared, "bless us now in this dark hour! Let the blood of this woman become the tears of our souls! Let her death stand as a signpost on the road to redemption! _Bring her forth!_"

Two of the priests took hold of Rika's arms; she did not resist. They helped her rise until she stood next to Yanagida on the platform.

It was time. I slipped the nearest lantern from the hook holding it, and leapt onto a bench, swinging the lantern around in front of me so that it lit up my face, first one side and then the other, red and black melting into each other. I can only imagine what I must have looked like in that moment: red-flecked eyes shimmering in the darkness, my black hair invisible against the sky, a white blouse streaked with blood billowing out below me, a gruesome sight. And that was how the ghost of Teramachi Miaka came back to haunt Hinamizawa.

"Stop, Yanagida!" I cried. "Oyashiro-sama does not bless this sacrifice!"

Everywhere, I could see heads swivelling round to face me; there were cries of shock and horror. Rika merely let out a delighted squeak – "Miaka-chan!"

"You know me, don't you?" I cried over the noise of the crowd. "Yes, we met once before. I am Teramachi Miaka, whom you tried to have killed so you could pretend it was the curse of Oyashiro-sama." I turned away towards the gate, where the crowd seemed to be thickest. "People of Hinamizawa! It is this man, Yanagida, and not Furude Rika who has deceived you! He is the false prophet!"

Yanagida took back his stick from the other priest and pressed it into the platform, pushing himself up to give himself all the height he could muster.

"Begone, thou demon!" he cried. "You are not Teramachi Miaka, though you have assumed her form! Return now to the abyss from whence you came!"

The crowd were going wild again. It seemed I had convinced some of them, but not all, and the ones who were taking my side pushed forward to try to get at Yanagida, while the others pushed back against them. Shouts rose and blended with each other until the whole courtyard trembled with an unceasing noise like a screeching siren. Yanagida fixed his eyes on me with a look of intense hatred, as though he really did believe I was a demon and might wither under his glare if his soul was pure enough. His priests formed a ring round the platform to hold back the crowd from interfering. Rika was trapped up there with him! I had to get her down – but first, I had to get rid of Irie, who would be a more formidable opponent than the mad old man when it came to a physical struggle.

I knew then what I had to do, though I can't pretend I liked it. But this was hardly the time to hesitate over scruples; saving Rika was the only thing that mattered to me any more. I leapt down into the middle of the courtyard and shouted, "_Irie!_ Back over there – by the water mill – Saki-chan's dying!"

"_What!_" the doctor cried. "No! This... is this really true?"

He wasn't looking at me. I glanced round, and saw that Akito had arrived. He had managed to force a way through the crowd, and stood there, panting for breath, as his eyes scanned the scene and tried to assess the situation. He silently nodded.

Irie let out a strangled gasp and then charged forward, disappearing through the gap Akito had left in the crowd just before it closed again.

I heard a high-pitched scream, loud enough to be heard even over the tumult. It seemed to come from behind the Saiguden – but no-one was standing there, were they?

Then I heard Azusa's voice cry out, "_Satoko!_ Come back! I can't control it on my own!"

_Control what?_ But there was no answer; no-one else was paying her any attention.

"Out of my way!" Akito snarled at me. But he did not push me; he just leapt past me and threw himself on Yanagida's priests, sending punches flying as he tried to shove a way past them.

In response, the priests broke formation and grouped together to push Akito back. One priest at the back looked up at Yanagida and shouted, "Just do it!"

Yanagida grabbed Rika by the collar and raised his knife –

I was struck by a blast of cold wind that flung itself over the courtyard like a blanket being shaken. In the woods behind the shrine, you could just see the trees throwing up their claws and scraping at the air as they struggled to dig a way out of the night that lay on them like a shroud. Then the darkness splintered all around us as light came crashing through, fiery light that burned yellow at first, then dazzling white. The cries of the villagers grew even louder and higher – and they were not shouting at each other any more, but joining together as though a single mind was driving them. They were facing towards the Saiguden, hands stretched out and trembling.

I turned. The Saiguden was now lit up on the inside with a blazing white light, so bright in that darkness that I had to look away. A low grinding booming sound came from somewhere inside it, building up until even the shouts of the crowd seemed to be receding. The light was just behind the doors now, outlining them in stark white around the edges and a red gleam in the middle. Was it my imagination, or was the ground trembling a little? My vision had become rather unsteady; perhaps because of the bright light, or because the doors of the Saiguden were shivering and flaking, fragments of light seeming to fly out from them as though the light itself was pressing against them, trying desperately to break free.

Then the doors split apart down the middle with a terrific crack, and something fiery and red shot forward into the air. The white light seemed to boom outwards and dissipate, leaving only a yellow gleam glowing behind it, and the doors broke away from the wall and fell outwards in a magnificent shower of smoke and ash and splinters, and the crowd could be heard again, screaming like some colossal beast stricken and left to die in slow agony.

For a moment, I could see nothing except the remains of the explosion of light seared onto my eyes. And then out from the Saiguden came Oyashiro-sama himself in all his glory. He took the form of a huge golden man, seated calmly on the air, glowing all over with his own inner light, his eyes shining a magnificent ruby red. He sat in a posture of steadfast authority, one hand raised palm outwards as if to say "Be calm", while the other held forth the sacred sword, the Onigari-no-Ryuuou, a forked red blade almost like a trident that seemed to be made of pure light.

I had to crouch and curl up tight to stop a panic attack coming on; the screams all around me were just so loud, thundering through the air and shaking my head until I felt it would burst. The light inside the Saiguden faded a little as Oyashiro-sama came out, and his golden glow lit the courtyard, seeming to form a sphere of light against which the surrounding darkness battered in vain. In that glow, Azusa could be seen in silhouette, standing around the back of the Saiguden and frantically pressing buttons on some sort of remote-control device. No-one else seemed to have noticed her; they were all too caught up in the shock of the moment. Cries of "Oyashiro-sama!" and "Forgive us!" rose up all around, and many of those in front threw themselves to their knees.

And Oyashiro-sama turned and trundled straight towards the platform where Yanagida stood. He seemed to be frozen in awe, the knife halted in mid-air above his head. Akito was still fighting against the priests, but they were too many for him; he was taking heavy blows and being pushed back. Oyashiro-sama seemed to glare at the scene in front of him with an angry frown; the Onigari-no-Ryuuou rotated in his hand, cutting neat circles through the air as though feeling for a way past an opposing blade. Four of the eight priests leapt to the side and stood in a line, facing Oyashiro-sama and repeatedly bowing and throwing their arms down like a kind of demented Mexican wave.

"Oyashiro-sama is come among us!" they cried. "Oyashiro-sama himself is come to bless the sacrifice!"

_How typical of you to try to turn this to your advantage, you pernicious hypocrites!_

"Bow down to Oyashiro-sama!" they cried. And many of the crowd did bow, while others seemed to be pushed onto their knees by those behind them, while still others looked mystified or horror-struck or simply anxious to be anywhere else; and to be honest, who could blame them?

The four priests remaining by the platform faded back, glancing anxiously at Oyashiro-sama as he came closer. Akito, sensing a turn in the advantage, pressed on against them, roaring out Kotone's name as he charged into their midst. Too confident. As he landed in between them, they grabbed him by the arms and hurled him to the ground right in front of Oyashiro-sama.

And Oyashiro-sama trundled on...

"_Akito!_" I screamed, leaping forward and grabbing a hand to drag him to his feet.

"_Get off me, bitch!_" He pushed back, trying to break away from me –

"Akito, I'm trying to save you..."

Oyashiro-sama loomed above us, his head suddenly so large that it seemed to fill the sky. There was a hideous screech, and he turned and started to roll towards the main shrine building; I grabbed Akito's arm tightly and forced him down as the Onigari-no-Ryuuou sliced through the air where he had just been standing, passing a centimetre over his head.

And if the crowd had been loud and chaotic before – I can hardly begin to describe the screams and the panic and the stamping of feet as Oyashiro-sama rolled on towards them, and then swung this way and that, the Onigari-no-Ryuuou swivelling so fast it seemed to be writing in fire on the sky. Those who were kneeling on the ground leapt up and shoved each other madly out of the way, while some of those at the back seemed to be trying to press forward to get as close to Oyashiro-sama as they could.

And then, at first from behind us and then from all around us, there came a new cry. Those who were gathered near the gate, and that was most of them, had turned so that their eyes could follow Oyashiro-sama as he rolled on. They were facing the same way I was now facing, looking towards the woods behind the platform on which Yanagida still stood frozen.

And there, between the trees, lined up so still and neatly that they might have been trees themselves, were the massed ranks of the Sonozaki army. They had arrived under cover of the darkness, and now stood startled at the suddenness with which the light revealed them. I knew who they were at once, for I saw Kasai standing in front with his gun at his side, his face stern, a huge man standing solid as a black mountain.

"_Treachery!_" Yanagida screamed. "This has all been a trap! We're being invaded!"

His priests took up the cry. "Rise now and fight!" they chanted. "For Hinamizawa and for Oyashiro-sama!"

"No!" cried Rika – but her tiny voice was lost among the tumult.

One of the priests grabbed a lantern and hurled himself at the Sonozakis with a cry of "Charge!" Either he was more reckless than the rest, or else he _knew_ that the Sonozakis were there to keep the peace and would not start a fight – unless the Hinamizawans could be made to start it first. They were confused and terrified, but as the cries of "Charge!" echoed around the courtyard, swelled by a few troublemakers lurking here and there among the crowd, something snapped and they surged forward in a mighty tide –

"Hold them back!" cried Kasai. "Don't let anyone get hurt! And will someone get rid of that turbulent priest?"

My ears and eyes hurt so much, I don't know if I can give you any idea of what it was like to be there in that moment. I was hot and dizzy and my vision was blurred, and there was so much noise that I had no idea any more how much of it was real. The ground shook like an earthquake with the pounding of stamping feet and the ringing clash of metal as the Sonozakis tried to hold back the villagers, using their guns as clubs. While Yanagida was distracted, continuing to roar out encouragement to the villagers to fight, one of the priests jumped up onto the platform and tried to slip the knife from his hand to finish off the sacrifice. And I could only watch; it wasn't that I didn't think I could do anything, but that I no longer knew how to make myself move. In order to take the knife, the man had to turn his back on Rika for a moment. He looked most startled when she turned towards him, grabbed him by both shoulders and shoved him off the platform.

And Rika stood watching the villagers as they came surging forward; her mouth was moving and I guessed she was trying to tell them not to fight, but no sound came out that I or anyone else could hear.

There were still two priests standing below the platform, and Akito had risen and was trying to block them from getting at Rika. Naoya had managed to break through the crowd, and he stretched out a hand to help Rika get down from the platform, glancing anxiously towards Akito as he did. One of the priests leapt forward and tried to grab Akito's wrists; he struggled free, but for a moment he was exposed, and the other priest threw a punch at the side of his jaw. I looked quickly behind me. The area around the gate and the Saiguden was nearly empty now; all those who had not joined the scuffle against the Sonozakis had fled. A lantern must have been spilled in the confusion; flames were licking at the base of the Saiguden, probing and exploring and growing in strength as they tore away at the wood.

I ran over to Azusa. "I'll help you!" I cried. "Which one controls the sword?"

If she was startled by my appearance, it was lost in her relief at having someone to help her. "That red one!" she said. "Can you take it?"

I gripped the little red wheel and twisted it, while Azusa manipulated the other controls. Oyashiro-sama turned again and came charging back towards the priests and Akito. One priest leapt out of the way, and I swung the wheel to make Oyashiro-sama hold the Onigari-no-Ryuuou back and high, and then send it searing through the air at the remaining priest –

The blade came to a stop a centimetre before it struck him.

"_The hour is not yet come._"

Who had spoken? I could see no-one.

Then, as the priest screamed and ran away, I thought I saw something in the air behind the sword, something almost like a hand encased in a red glove or sleeve, outstretched to hold it back. But it was not attached to any body – none that I could see, at least, though above the hand just where the head might have been, there were two pinprick red eyes, and two black curls a little like horns.

_The Black Demon! It had to be!_

Naoya had gotten Rika down from the platform and was trying to hurry her towards the gate; she was breathing heavily, one hand over her chest as if in pain. Oyashiro-sama had ground to a halt, sparks flying from his base as he tried in vain to push on against whatever it was that held him back. The flames now rose in triumph over the Saiguden, waving high into the darkness above. Azusa threw down the remote control and ran forward to help Naoya and Rika.

From where I was standing, the fight between the villagers and the Sonozakis was just a confused mass of bodies pushing and pressing against each other, some being thrown back or crashing to the ground with limbs trailing off at horrible angles. The other four priests, the ones who had first broken away from the group, had suddenly come back. They had gone into the Saiguden while no-one was looking, and each grabbed whatever lay to hand, wicked-looking instruments with spikes and sharp blades. They had noticed Naoya leading Rika away, and came running towards them, shouting in anger. Akito lifted himself up again, getting ready to make another desperate charge; but he was clearly exhausted, his arm hanging loosely at his side as if his shoulder had gone missing. I took a deep breath.

_It's time for me to do my bit. Thank you, Oyashiro-sama, for giving me this chance to fulfil my destiny._ The real Oyashiro-sama, of course, and not the remote-controlled statue.

I leapt forward; before the priests had had time to notice me, I had drawn my knife across the throat of the nearest one, then shoved him to the ground so he could die in peace. The others were all around me and were grabbing hold of me; I knew I didn't have much time. I plunged my knife into the chest of the man in front of me.

I won't try to explain what happened next. It was all confusion: twisting and pushing, surges of pain from nowhere, a woozy feeling in my head as the world spun rapidly around me and then refused to settle. I felt myself falling and something striking me, but I couldn't be sure where the blow had landed; I ached all over. Something smashed into one eye, and for a while I could see nothing but blood, and after that faded, nothing but patches of red flickering across the black sky.

I couldn't move. I was being held by something, but I couldn't feel what. No, I was just lying on the ground, and my body wasn't under my control any more; I could somehow feel that it was broken and crushed. I didn't know enough about anatomy to guess exactly what was happening to me, but I knew this was the end all right. A slower death than poor Saki's, but not a very painful one. The parts of me that felt pain were shutting down rapidly, and the rest would follow soon. Fifteen years and nineteen days: not a great score, but better than some. Game over.

I could just manage to turn my head enough to see Naoya and Azusa as they reached the gate, now almost carrying Rika between them. Good. They had escaped. That was all that mattered... I could even manage to smile a little at the irony of it all. After everything Naoya had done – plotted to kill me, sowed distrust among our friends, turned us against each other, driven me in the end to desperation and that moment of madness – and here I was dying for him. _I just hope you appreciate it, you bastard..._ But I wasn't angry; the part of me that felt anger must have shut down as well. I would die knowing that we had saved Rika, and that made it a good ending.

I turned my head back over and stared upwards. Yanagida still stood, a demonic master of revels, on the platform with his stick raised above his head as he roared and bellowed. And then something slipped, and a pinprick hole opened up that the clouds could not quite cover, and a single beam of sunlight came piercing through, turning the clouds around it to white and gold as it touched them; in that moment I could almost imagine that I could look all the way up to heaven, further away from me than ever. And the beam of sunlight shone down directly onto Yanagida and lit him up as though a ghostly aura had risen around him; and he stopped and looked down, his face melting into an expression of surprise as he tried to work out where the shuriken that had suddenly appeared in his neck had come from.

And the clouds closed ranks again above me and the world went black once more, this time for ever.


	17. Appendix 1

****(o)****

****Return to Hinamizawa****

****Appendix 1****

* * *

><p><strong>Character Profiles<strong>

**Teramachi Miaka** (寺町 美朱)

**Kanji meaning:** temple, town, beautiful, vermilion  
><strong>Date of birth:<strong> 31 May 1988  
><strong>Family:<strong> Adopted daughter of Teramachi Shunsuke and Mikoto, residents of Kyoto.  
><strong>Pets:<strong> Two cats, Sauron and Saruman.  
><strong>Favourite colour:<strong> Red  
><strong>Favourite book:<strong> _The Lord of the Rings_**  
>Favourite manga  anime:** _Detective Conan_  
><strong>Best subject: <strong>English  
><strong>Worst subject:<strong> History**  
>Favourite sport:<strong> Long-distance walking, climbing, track athletics  
><strong>Other hobbies:<strong> Writing, going out with friends, karaoke  
><strong>Greatest fear:<strong> Confined spaces

**Sonozaki Akito** (園崎 明人)

**Kanji meaning:** garden, promontory, bright, person**  
>Date of birth:<strong> 7 January 1988  
><strong>Family:<strong> Son of Sonozaki Shion and Satoshi, and thus nephew to Mion, grandson to Akane and Juntarou, and so forth. He has one younger sister, Kotone.  
><strong>Pets:<strong> None  
><strong>Favourite colour:<strong> Navy blue  
><strong>Favourite manga  anime:** _Neon Genesis Evangelion_  
><strong>Best subject:<strong> Japanese**  
>Worst subject: <strong>Mathematics  
><strong>Favourite sport:<strong> Baseball  
><strong>Other hobbies:<strong> PS2 games, guitar, numerous other hobbies (often losing interest after a couple of weeks)  
><strong>Greatest fear:<strong> Needles

**Ryuuguu Naoya** (竜宮 直矢)

**Kanji meaning:** dragon, shrine, honest, arrow  
><strong>Date of birth:<strong> 29 February 1988  
><strong>Family:<strong> Son of Ryuuguu Yutaka (Rena's father) and Rumiko (Chie-sensei) and thus half-brother to Rena.  
><strong>Pets:<strong> Naoya keeps geckos in a tank, and has also kept and observed many other creatures over the years.  
><strong>Favourite colour:<strong> Burgundy  
><strong>Favourite manga  anime:** _Chobits_  
><strong>Best subject:<strong> Science, especially biology  
><strong>Worst subject:<strong> Art  
><strong>Favourite sport:<strong> Football (soccer)  
><strong>Other hobbies:<strong> Reading, playing with science, electronics, chess  
><strong>Greatest fear:<strong> Guns

**Fujiura Saki** (藤浦 沙紀)

**Kanji meaning:** wisteria, bay, sand, chronicle  
><strong>Date of birth:<strong> 8 August 1991  
><strong>Family:<strong> Daughter of Fujiura Takumi (deceased) and Satoko, and thus Akito and Kotone's cousin. She and her mother live with Takumi's sister, Azusa.  
><strong>Pets:<strong> The Fujiura family have a dog, Emi.  
><strong>Favourite colour:<strong> Yellow  
><strong>Favourite manga  anime:** _Azumanga Daioh_  
><strong>Best subject:<strong> Physical education  
><strong>Worst subject:<strong> Science**  
>Favourite sport:<strong> Tennis  
><strong>Other hobbies:<strong> Trapmaking, outdoor games, beating Naoya at chess  
><strong>Greatest fear:<strong> Centipedes

**Sonozaki Kotone** (園崎 琴音)

**Kanji meaning:** garden, promontory, Japanese harp, sound**  
>Date of birth:<strong> 4 October 1994  
><strong>Family:<strong> Daughter of Sonozaki Shion and Satoshi, and younger sister of Akito.**  
>Pets:<strong> Kotone has a rabbit, which she keeps in one of the numerous outbuildings in the Sonozaki garden.  
><strong>Favourite colour:<strong> Sakura pink  
><strong>Favourite manga  anime:** _Asagiri no Miko_  
><strong>Best subject: <strong>Music  
><strong>Worst subject:<strong> English  
><strong>Favourite sport:<strong> Swimming  
><strong>Other hobbies:<strong> Calligraphy, gardening, dolls' tea parties  
><strong>Greatest fear:<strong> Demons

**Furude Kizuna** (古手 絆)

**Kanji meaning:** old, hand, bonds**  
>Date of birth:<strong> 29 September 1994  
><strong>Family:<strong> Daughter of Furude Rika and Suguru (Okamura). She has a younger brother, Seiji, and another sibling on the way.  
><strong>Pets:<strong> The Furude family have a cat, Rin.  
><strong>Favourite colour:<strong> Lilac  
><strong>Favourite manga  anime:** _Cardcaptor Sakura_  
><strong>Best subject:<strong> Mathematics  
><strong>Worst subject:<strong> Japanese  
><strong>Favourite sport:<strong> Dance, cheerleading  
><strong>Other hobbies:<strong> Cooking, dressing up, helping Rika at festivals, putting centipedes down Saki's dress  
><strong>Greatest fear:<strong> Being alone

* * *

><p><strong>Acknowledgements<strong>

Firstly, of course, I thank **Ryuukishi07** for creating _Higurashi _and making this fanfic possible.

**John Biles**'s _Mai-HiME: Future_ (FanFiction won't let me post the link, but simply google the title and you'll find it) was a chief source of inspiration. Biles's story does with _Mai-HiME_ exactly what I'm trying to do with _Higurashi_: it starts from the premise that the next generation have been kept in the dark regarding their parents' adventures, and follows their gradual discovery of the truth as a new series of adventures unfolds, with the story focusing more or less evenly on both generations. It's one of the best fanfics I've read, though sadly at the time of writing it hasn't been updated for a while.

**Erika** was responsible for introducing me to _Higurashi_ (and for persuading me to persist after that fingernail scene...) and has also been my main confidante in both the planning and writing of _Return to Hinamizawa_. It's thanks to her that I scrapped a very dull opening chapter in which Irie explained the situation to Miaka at great length, most of this being information the reader familar with _Higurashi_ would already know. She suggested replacing all this with the medical report, providing the same information much more efficiently; I was able to use the space saved to deepen Miaka's character development and to include the letter from her mother. I won't list all the changes Erika suggested at other points in the story, but they have included some crucial improvements throughout. In planning, she helped me work out the backstory regarding what happened after the end of the original series, and the genetics of anime hair colours.

Going further back, it's not an exaggeration to say that Erika has done more than anyone else to teach me how to write. She is an incredible writer and particularly strong in the area where I have always been weakest, namely character construction and development; it's thanks to her help that I feel I'm finding my feet in this area at last. Erika's blog, Exchange of Realities (again, google the name to find it), covers both role-playing and writing and the interaction between them and is a wonderful resource – I highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in either.

**Shinali** was responsible for my initial introduction to anime, and has given me a great deal of help and information regarding details of Japanese culture.

**Cassandra** helped me with Rika's pregnancy, and **Mike Randall** helped with the details of Tomitake's cameras.

Big thanks go to all my reviewers; knowing that people are reading and enjoying this story really helps me keep in the mood for writing it. I'm especially grateful to **WOLFEDEN Stories** and **The Minister of Silly Walks** who have been reviewing right from the beginning. They're both awesome writers, as well, and "the praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards".

I'd also like to thank in particular **Oxymoronic Priest**, who made some suggestions for improvement that have been very useful, and posted some speculation about the story that was a great pleasure to read.

Much of this story was written at **Café Lento** in Headingley, Leeds, and I'm very grateful to the staff their for their friendliness and hospitality and their excellent sandwiches.


	18. Part II Ch 1 Slipping Through My Fingers

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

narrated by Sonozaki Shion

* * *

><p><em>What have we in common with the rosebud,<br>which trembles because a drop of dew is lying upon it?_

_It is true: we love life,  
>not because we are used to living,<br>but because we are used to loving._

_There is always a certain madness in love.  
>But also there is always a certain method in madness.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>1<br>Slipping Through My Fingers**

I suppose if I'm going to tell you my story, I will have to go back to the Friday, two days before Watanagashi. As usual, I was the last to enter the dining-room for breakfast; I had been up to take a tray of food to Oni-baba. She's a cantankerous old curmudgeon, but it's one duty I would never delegate to one of the servants. Between my teaching job and dealing with the kids, I don't have very much time for her, so we both need this routine of morning visits. It helps me get through the day feeling better because I've been dutiful and helped to cheer up my old grandmother, and it helps her get through the day feeling better because she's had someone to rant and complain at.

Gorou, our butler, held the door open for me and bowed as I entered. His bow was stiff and formal, but you could see there was no deep feeling behind it. He's been with the family since Oni-baba was young, hard as it is to believe there ever was such a time, and I think he still regards Sis and me as upstarts who just don't deserve the same respect. The one person in the family who gets his respect is my daughter Kotone – because she's the one who gets on best with Oni-baba.

I smiled and said good morning to the other family members – and now I'll have to tell you a bit about each of them. First of all, my parents. People always say they had such an amazing fairytale romance – and it's true, but you do get tired of hearing it. She was the daughter of the Sonozaki leader and he was a junior lieutenant of the Misora clan, and the Sonozakis and Misoras were like our version of the Montagues and the Capulets. The amazing part is that they managed to avoid a tragic ending, though they both had to renounce their inheritance in order to marry each other, and Oni-baba forgave them and let them move in together at the Manor.

Then there's me and my twin sister, Mion, and my husband, Satoshi. We've been married for fifteen years now, and we're still just as deeply in love as when we first met. We have two gorgeous kids and we couldn't possibly be happier. But my bond with Mion is like nothing else in my life. We've gone through life together from the womb, and we know each other better than anyone else ever will. Naturally, it was Mion who was the first to return my greeting as I sat down.

"How's the old woman doing?" she said.

"Same as always," I answered with a grin. "Akito, she says you should come and see her more often."

My son Akito squirmed in his seat. "Uh, sorry about that, Mother," he mumbled. "I've just been really busy with school stuff..."

"Club stuff, you mean," I chuckled. "How's Miaka-chan settling in? You should bring her round; I'm sure Grandmother would like to meet her."

"Uh... I don't think Miaka-chan would really..." He stared down at his plate.

I sighed. He's not normally this insipid; I've seen him when he's with the club, and it's like he's a completely different person when he takes charge. I just wish he didn't have to act this way around the family. Does he think this is the side of him we want to see, or something?

Mother came to his rescue. "I'm sure Miaka-san has other things she would rather be doing than visiting an old woman. Not that I have any idea what it is you young folk get up to these days."

"Oh, we just play games and hang round, really," said Akito. I also don't know why he has to be so vague; except for mathematics he's actually pretty intelligent. Being his schoolteacher as well as his mother, I would know. Ask him about the internet, guitars or baseball and he can go on for hours, telling you some fascinating things, if you're interested in those subjects.

"But you'd _like_ to do more, wouldn't you?" said Kotone, smiling up at him. And that's Kotone for you, cheerful no matter what the situation; I have no idea how she manages it.

"_Kotone!_" he snapped; then he must have realised that getting angry was only giving her fuel, and abruptly switched tack. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He looked away and began shovelling food rapidly into his mouth. Kotone beamed, with the air of one hiding a great secret. Satoshi says she gets that look from me. I really don't see it.

"It's nice to have someone new in the village," said Mother. "It's a shame – we've tried so hard to be more welcoming to outsiders, but no-one ever comes here. It's like we just can't manage to shake off the past."

"You have to admit, what happened twenty years ago wasn't the best advertisement," said Satoshi. "Come to our village: we can give you a rare disease you can't get anywhere else!"

I stretched out a hand to touch his. I love Satoshi; he could so easily have ended up bitter about what happened, the pain he went through and all the chances he missed out on, but instead he makes jokes about it as though nothing matters to him now that he's got me.

Father, however, scowled. "It's no joking matter, Satoshi-kun. If we don't open up more business opportunities, I don't see how the family's going to survive much longer. I would have thought you'd show more concern, seeing as it's your children who'll be most affected."

Akito rolled his eyes. "Do we _have_ to talk about money at the breakfast table?"

"You should show more respect to your elders," said Mother. "In my opinion, your grandfather is quite right."

I glanced at her. "What do you know about financial matters, Mother?"

"What makes you think I don't know about them, Shion?"

I scowled at her, and Mion quickly intervened to keep the peace. "The family business is managing just fine," she said. "And I _don't_ think we should be talking about this in front of the children. Kotone, has Kizuna-chan tried on her costume for the festival yet?"

Kotone grinned wickedly – and that's one thing she _definitely_ doesn't get from me. "Nope!" she said. "We're all going round to the shrine tomorrow for the great unveiling!"

"That's wonderful," Mion said with a wistful smile.

Kotone laid down her chopsticks and looked up at her. "Why won't you come to the Watanagashi festival, Aunt Mion?"

Mion quickly shook her head. "Eh, it's just not really my thing. Don't you go worrying about me – just go and have a good time with your friends."

Her eyes met mine across the table, and I gave her a sympathetic smile. I knew why Mion avoids the Watanagashi festival. For her, it brings back too many memories of that day, fifteen years ago. Our little club, after so many adventures together, was nearing the end of its lifespan. It was Keiichi and Rena's last year at university, and they'd both still been undecided about where they were going next. Akito was a few months old, and Satoshi and I were settling into our new family life. Satoko had started dating Fujiura Takumi, an outsider we'd met on our games meetings in Uncle Yoshirou's store in Okinomiya. We didn't need to make promises; we knew that we would always remain friends. The adventures we'd been through together had assured that. But all the same, we knew that this might be the very last Watanagashi we would have together as a group.

And so, as soon as term started in April and we said goodbye to Keiichi and Rena, the rest of us had got together and started planning to make sure this would be the biggest, best and most unforgettable Watanagashi of our lives, one that would round things off by wiping out for ever the painful memories of the years of Oyashiro-sama's curse. We didn't tell Keiichi and Rena anything; we just looked forward to seeing their faces when they saw all the surprises we had prepared.

And then Akasaka arrived to tell us that Keiichi and Rena would never be coming home.

I don't think I need to elaborate; you can imagine how devastating that was. Poor Rika had to go ahead with preparing the festival, even though her heart was no longer in it. Mion shut herself up in her room for weeks and wouldn't talk to anyone except me; I sat with her for long hours doing the best I could to comfort her, though I knew I couldn't do much. At last, when the day of Watanagashi arrived, I persuaded Mion to dress up and come with me, hoping that I could at least make her a bit more cheerful. When we got to the shrine, full of life and colour and noise and bustle and happiness, she took one look around, then turned and walked home without a word. She hasn't attended the Watanagashi festival once since then.

"Well, _all right_," Kotone said with a pout. "I guess we can manage to have a good time..."

"I should hope so, considering how much work it's been to set it all up," I said breezily.

Mother glanced at me. "I hope the kids have been helping?"

"They've been great," I said, reaching across to pat Kotone's head. "And the new girl, Miaka-chan, she really seems to be getting into the spirit of things."

"She's been brilliant," said Akito.

"Glad to hear it," said Mion. "You must all come round after you've finished tomorrow, and bring Miaka-chan. I'll make a special dinner for you all, as a treat."

Akito was staring at his food again. "You shouldn't..."

"Nonsense! I'm sure you all deserve it, and besides, don't you want to have your friends round for dinner? My cooking's not _that_ bad, is it?"

"It's the _best_," Kotone said loyally.

"Akito doesn't seem to think so," Mion teased. (Both of them _loved_ her cooking, and they were never shy about saying so – I suppose it's easier for them to be natural with her because she's not their mother. Not that I'm bitter or anything, of course not. What, you think we have to be competitive with each other all the time just because we're twins?)

She looked down at Akito. "What are you looking so gloomy about?"

"Er, nothing," he said. "I was just thinking..." He trailed off.

"That Miaka-san will be going home in two weeks and you won't see her again?" said Mother. "But, Akito, why don't you tell her that you feel that way? It's so easy to keep in touch these days now that you have googling or whatever it's called. And when the school holidays start next month, you can go and visit her in Kyoto."

Akito rested his head on one hand to hide his eyes. "You don't mean googling, Grandma, you're confusing it with –"

"Akito, don't correct your grandmother," Father snapped.

"Can we really go to Kyoto?" said Kotone. "Can we?"

She looked round eagerly at everyone at the table. I blinked. I'm sure Mother hadn't meant to suggest they both go, but once Kotone got an idea into her head – this couldn't go well.

"I don't know if Miaka's family would want to be burdened with _both_ of you...," Mother said hesitantly.

"More to the point, I don't think Miaka-chan would be too pleased at you getting in the way of Akito's visit," Mion put in, quickly raising her bowl to her mouth to hide her smile.

"That's not fair!" said Kotone, now scowling like a miniature demon – and I'm quite sure she doesn't get that from _either_ of us. "Miaka-chan likes me!"

"I'm sure she does, Kotone, but that doesn't mean you can just invite yourself round to her house," I said.

"Why not? She's come here often enough!"

I sighed. "Help me out, Satoshi, will you? Kotone, you've got to understand that Kyoto's a long way away, it's difficult to make arrangements for the whole family, and you can't go alone..."

"Kotone and I could go together," said Akito.

"Absolutely not!"

"Awww!" Kotone looked like she was about to burst into tears.

I looked helplessly across at Mion. She often says she's envious of me for having children, but I really don't understand why. She gets all the fun of living with them without all the hassle. She doesn't have to deal with this kind of impossible dilemma! What could be more perfect?

"I could look after her, I promise," said Akito.

"Akito, if your mother isn't happy about you two going on your own, then that's final as far as I'm concerned," said Satoshi. "However, I don't see why we can't make plans to go to Kyoto together during the school break."

"Really?" Kotone cried out. "Yay!"

"Kotone, be careful where that elbow's going –"

Gorou, silently efficient as always, appeared from out of nowhere to clean up the mess. Kotone ignored him; she was too excited to pay him any attention. To be honest, I can't blame her. We all love village life, but for the young ones who haven't been away from Hinamizawa very often, the prospect of a visit to the city is a big thrill.

"Can we do that, Mother?" said Akito. He was gazing up at me with flickering eyes; it was as though he had come to life in an instant, and it was now Akito the fearless club leader who faced me across the table.

"Oh, all right!" I said. "I suppose, if Satoshi says yes, I can't exactly go against him, can I?"

Satoshi smiled sweetly, and reached across to pat my head in that cute way of his. It makes me feel all warm and cosy inside, just like I'm a little girl again. I love Satoshi so much. And sometimes I just want to throttle him.

"Yay!" cried Kotone.

"Calm down," said Akito. "We still need to speak to Miaka-chan about this."

I nodded. "You do that. And I'll give her parents a call and see what they think."

"Huh?" This time it was Akito's elbow that slipped in the miso soup, but no-one came rushing over to clean it up. "Since when do you know Miaka-chan's parents?"

"I don't, but as her teacher I have her parents' number to contact in case of emergency."

"You call this an emergency?"

I glanced around. "Well, Kotone's going to be very upset if we can't go, and that will make Satoshi unhappy, and if he's unhappy then Oni-baba will get on my case, so yes... that's what I call an emergency."

"You're all crazy," Mion said suddenly. "Shion, I thought you knew how to stick up for yourself better than this! That's not the Shion I remember from the old days..."

I looked across at her, startled. "What's got into you?" I said.

For a moment we stared at each other, and then she looked away, flustered. "I... I guess I just think this is all a bit sudden."

"What's wrong with a little spontaneity now and again?" I laughed. "You should try it!"

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

That's the thing about being twins, I suppose. Our moods resonate so well with each other that although we're the best of friends, when something _does_ slip we can become enemies in a matter of seconds. And then we can become friends again just as quickly.

We were both leaning across the table and glaring at each other; Mother gave a startled gasp and faded back into her seat.

"Don't you think you're getting a bit set in your ways, Sis?" I said. "You won't come to the Watanagashi festival, even though it would mean a lot to Kotone, because of something that happened fifteen years ago..."

"_That is none of your business!_"

"Mion, _please_," said Mother. "Not over breakfast. Shion, you really shouldn't have brought that up..."

But I was in an argumentative mood now. "So, are we supposed to brush it under the rug and never discuss it? Sis needs to grow up some time and stop moping –"

The table shook and the dishes rattled as Mion drove a fist down onto her plate.

"Nee-chan, please don't do this," said Satoshi. He's a very strong man, but he's also the most timid of all of us, and he _hates_ being involved in any kind of conflict.

Kotone was looking anxiously from one of them to the other. "Why is Aunt Mion angry, Dad?" she said softly.

"Perhaps you should be asking your mother that," Mion hissed.

"I think, Kotone, you should just get off to school and leave my two silly little girls to their silly little quarrels," said Mother.

Kotone looked up at me with wide eyes and such a mournful pout, I could almost feel my heart breaking.

"Yes, you and Akito should get going," I said.

"But..."

"We'll be fine," I said, forcing a smile. "Now run off. You don't want to leave Kizuna-chan waiting."

"See you at school, Mother!" she said brightly, waving to me and rushing from the room. I smiled after her; her cheerfulness is so infectious, I just can't stay angry for very long when I see the way she smiles and moves about, almost as if she is dancing. Even Mion, I noticed, seemed to have become much calmer already.

"I really don't know why you don't walk to school with her," said Father.

"Yes you do – you've asked me that hundreds of times. She wants to walk up with her friend, and I'm sure Kizuna-chan is much better company than this old woman." I glanced at Akito, who was still only about halfway through his food, and was shovelling it down as quickly as he could. "Don't rush it, Akito. You've got plenty of time."

"Mmm hmm hmm Kotone..."

"She and Kizuna will wait for you as usual."

Akito gave up, stuffed as much rice as he could into his omelette, and skidded out of the room with it, leaving the rest behind.

"It's wonderful to see how well those two get on," said Mother.

"It is," I said. "Akito's very devoted to his sister – just like you used to be, eh, Satoshi?"

I nudged Satoshi with an elbow. He looked nervous and embarrassed.

"They're both lovely children," said Mion.

"I just wish you'd spend more time with them," Mother said to me. "Outside school, I mean."

I looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I'm just saying, you might regret it one day if you don't... that's all."

"Mother," I said in a tone of gentle warning. I hardly need that reminder. I know just what she means – I was cut off from the family when I was growing up because Mion was being trained to be the Sonozaki heir, and Oni-baba thought it would generate tension between us if we stayed together but were treated differently. Mother didn't have the courage to stand up to her over that, and I know that it's the second-greatest regret of her life.

She shook her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to darken the mood."

She got up and started to clear away. Father relaxed in his seat, gratefully accepting the newspaper Gorou handed to him. Satoshi went to ask Mother if she needed any help, and Mion stayed in her seat, leaning forwards with elbows on the table, deep in thought. I walked over to the front door to watch the children leave. Akito was just getting his outdoor shoes on; Kotone had gone to get their schoolbags and the bentou Mion had made for them, and gave Akito a formal bow as she handed his over. She did like to play at being the good little servant sometimes – I suppose it's easy for her because she doesn't have to do it all the time.

Akito took his bag, and shrugged himself free as I tried to give him a goodbye kiss. Kotone gave me another formal bow and allowed me to kiss her on the forehead. Then she stood for a moment in the doorway as she turned and waved, holding her left arm stiffly in a characteristic way that she has. I have no idea why she does it, but it's just one of those little things that make her the person that she is, and I love every bit of her. Then she raced off after her brother, her bright red bag glinting in the sunlight behind her as she ran, and she was gone.

I closed the door and went back into the dining room. The family were all there, just as before. Nothing had changed, and yet, somehow, everything had changed. Father was buried in the morning newspaper, and would be deaf to the rest of the world until Gorou brought him his mid-morning coffee. All that talk of a fairytale romance, forbidden love between two enemies, had come down to this in the end. He neither loved the Sonozakis nor hated us; he was bored by us. Oh, I'm sure he still loved Mother, but he always seemed to believe he had some kind of unique ability to see our faults from the outside, and all it did was make him irritated and discontented. I don't know what faults he saw, but whatever it was, he never _did_ anything about them, and as the years went on, he grew less and less happy at the same time as he grew more and more lethargic, resigned to the fact that this was his life and this was how things would stay.

And then there was Mother, busily clearing away the remains of the family breakfast. She'd never been able to tear herself away from the family. And I don't know exactly what was said between her and Oni-baba when she announced that she was marrying Father, but it's clear that she never really wanted to. She'd been happy to give up her position as heir in order to marry Father, but the family had always come first for her – and she could do nothing but watch it crumble around her as the consequences of that decision continued to resonate. She never talks about her brother Hiroshi, but I _know_ that on the day he slammed the door in her face and swore he'd never talk to her again, something broke inside her that no passage of time will ever fix.

Next, Satoshi, who had taken instructions from Mother and was preparing to take a drink up to Oni-baba. It's wonderful how well he's taken to the position of carer – much better than I have, I admit, and he isn't even her blood relative. He was humming softly to himself as he got the drink ready. On the outside, he seems happy enough with his life, caring for Oni-baba, coaching the Hinamizawa Fighters, and doing odd jobs around the village that need a man of great strength. It's not a career, but I have an income, and the family's wealthy enough that neither of us really needs to work. I'm sure many people would be envious of him for a life like that. And yet – I know it's not the life he was hoping for. He had the potential for so much more, but he was already sacrificing himself to take care of his younger sister Satoko, and if that had gone on much longer he would have had to choose between his career prospects and his sister, and I know what he would have chosen. Then, out of the blue, he was struck by the Hinamizawa Syndrome and spent more than a year in a coma. Irie-sensei managed to cure him, but his memory was badly damaged, and it took him _years_ to get back to the stage where he was able to take care of himself and look for work. Then I got pregnant with Akito, and Satoshi decided to stay with me and settle down, even though it meant giving up all hope of going to university and getting onto a real career path. Does he regret it? I honestly don't know. I know he loves me and he loves the children, and if I ever ask him, he says we only get one life and we just have to make the most of it. And if I _really_ press him, he rubs the top of my head and smiles, and somehow I just don't feel like asking any more.

And finally, there's Mion. We're identical twins, and we're nearly impossible to tell apart, but our lives have been very different. I went through hell when Satoshi disappeared, and Mion, more than anyone else, was there to support me and give me a shoulder to cry on. And now it's my turn to be the one to support her, now that Satoshi's back and we're happily married and have two lovely children – while Mion has waited for fifteen years for a man who will never come home. I may snap at her and wish she could get over it, but really – I know what she's feeling, better than anyone else ever could. I know that, if Satoshi had never come back, I would be like that, or worse. At least Mion manages to put a cheerful face on most of the time; it's only when we're alone together that she lets it slip a little, because she knows she doesn't need to hide anything from me.

So there you have it. That's my family.


	19. Part II Ch 2 School Days

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**2  
>School Days<strong>

It was a warm morning, and everyone was in a cheerful mood; the festival spirit was in the air, and at times it was difficult to get the class to settle down. By the time lunch break came, I was more than ready to collapse on the sofa for a while, so I left Akito in charge and headed off to the staffroom. I went through the usual routine – first opening the door very gently in case anything had been left on top of it, though Saki has long since realised that I won't fall for such a simple trick as that. But just maybe she might think that I _know_ she won't leave anything there and so I won't bother to check, and so she _will_ leave something there after all. That would be just like her.

Next, I tested the sofa to make sure that the cushions were in place and nothing had been left under them that would go off when I sat down. The kettle seemed in order, too, and there was nothing suspicious about the cupboard containing the tea. Maybe there wouldn't be a trap today. Maybe Saki was just enjoying _knowing_ that I would have to go through all the checks, regardless of whether there was a trap or not. Well, I didn't like to discourage her. She is Satoko's daughter, and shortly before he disappeared, Satoshi had entrusted me with caring for Satoko, and ever since then she's been like a little sister to me. And I know that the one thing Satoko wants most is for Saki to have the happy, pain-free childhood she never had. I guess we do overindulge her just a little bit sometimes, but how can we help it? If you saw her merry smile and the way her soft golden hair billows around her face when she tosses her head, I'm sure you'd understand.

I filled the kettle, and then reached over to the electrical socket and pressed the switch. At once a loud bell sounded right next to my ear! I jumped back, quivering all over; it took about a minute before I'd recovered enough to stand up straight. That wily girl! She'd taken out the plug and replaced it with another one, connected to an alarm clock she'd hidden inside the box containing Kaieda-sensei's bran flakes! I didn't know how she'd made it so loud, but I suspected that she'd taken it to Ryuuguu Naoya and begged him to make a few modifications. He could never refuse anything she asked of him!

After all that, I _finally_ made my coffee and settled down. I wasn't upset any more; you know me, I'm not one to get angry over trifles and I can take a silly little prank in my stride. As I've said, it was a warm day, and the cushions were soft and cosy, taking my troubles away at once. Relaxing in the sunshine with a nice cup of coffee – what could be more blissful?

After the first long sip, I turned on my phone to check the messages. They were all talking about the Watanagashi festival – hardly surprising now that it was so close. Rika's husband Suguru thanked me for overseeing the setting-up, and said it looked like we might get everything done today if we had a real go at it. Satoko sent me a challenge to an eating contest at the festival, to which I immediately texted back, "You're on!" It was sad that so few of us would be left of the original club – we'd lost Keiichi and Rena; Mion wouldn't come to the festival; and Rika would be spending the day at the clinic. Still, that left me and Satoshi and Satoko, and Azusa was almost an honorary club member, and a day spent hanging round with those three was a good day.

The last message was from Tomitake, asking if I would be there and whether I'd like to meet up. That was nice. He's been a good friend ever since he helped us defeat Takano, and it would be good to catch up with him. I made a mental note to ask, when I saw him, whether he and Kumiko had set a date for the wedding yet; that would be something else I could get Kotone excited about. I texted back to confirm that I'd be there, and also suggested that he drop by the house so he could have a chat with Mion as well.

Then, just as I was about to put the phone away, it beeped to say that a new message had arrived. It was from Mion: "Can I drop in?" Of course I answered yes.

She showed up less than ten minutes later, so she couldn't have come from the house. She stepped in and immediately closed the door and turned to face me. She was breathing heavily, and her brow was creased with anxiety. I stood up at once.

"Sis?" I said. "What's wrong?"

She dropped into the armchair that sat next to the sofa, and stretched up an arm to clasp my hand in hers. Something was _definitely_ troubling her. We're twins, and we don't normally need even the slightest physical contact to be comforted by each other's presence. But if Mion needed to hold hands – I clasped my fingers around hers and held her steady.

"Thanks, Shion," she said, managing a faint smile.

I released her hand and sat back down. "So, what's up?"

"Tsushima called."

"The big one?" I said casually. "What did he want?"

Tsushima Minoru is the Sonozaki clan's chief lieutenant in Okinomiya. We call him "the big one" because he's fat, and because there are two other Tsushimas, his sons Shouichi and Kenji.

"Said he wanted a meeting on 'urgent family business'. I asked him if we could make it this evening, so that – well, Shion, could you go in my place?"

I let out a long whistle. "Sis, it's been a long day..."

"_Please!_" Her eyes turned downward at the corners, a look of utter desperation. "I'll do anything... I'll treat you and Satoshi to a romantic candlelit dinner, any restaurant you like!"

"Oh, well, I can hardly say no to that, now, can I?" I chuckled. "Sis, why don't you want to meet Tsushima?"

She sighed. "He sounded so grim. I think it's bad news. And I don't know how much more of that I can take right now."

"Bad news for the family?" I asked quietly. She nodded. "Sis, we can take it! We've held things together this far, haven't we?"

"I don't know," said Mion. "Father sounds really worried about the financial situation –"

"Father's _always_ worrying, you should know that –"

"But you know, we really haven't been doing well lately. We've lost contracts in Fukudaya and Takatsudo. The people are starting to fight back, just refusing to pay what they owe us. I'm worried this may lead to full-scale rebellion."

I reached out and gripped her hand again. "It's a cycle, Sis. They get like this every few years, then they realise they can't manage without us, and it blows over and things are back to normal."

"Yeah, I guess so." She looked away, staring through the window at the empty sky. "I just don't want to have to deal with all this. Not now. Not so close to Watanagashi."

"Sis, it's okay," I said. "I know how you feel."

She looked at me sharply. "Do you really?"

"You know I do," I said. "There was a time when I really thought Satoshi would never be coming back. Everything I went through, the sacrifices I made for him... it would all have been for nothing. I felt like my whole life was taken away from me, and I had to go on smiling and pretend."

Mion nodded. "But he did come back. You got your happy ending. You get to have Satoshi by your side every night, and two lovely children to wake up to in the morning..."

"Sis," I said, "you know I'd give all that up in a heartbeat if it meant you could be with Keiichi."

She smiled wistfully at me. "Don't say that."

"Why not? It's perfectly true."

"Shion, how do you think Satoshi would feel if he heard you?"

I laughed. "But he's not here, Sis."

"Mm, and how do you know Kotone isn't listening at the door?"

I jolted in my seat and swivelled round. "She wouldn't!"

Damn it, I was trembling! Then I noticed Mion giving me a sly wink. "Sis, you're teasing! That's wicked!"

She slipped out of her chair and stood round the other side of the table before I managed to hit her with a cushion. She knew me too well.

"Always the same Shion," she said. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around."

"Wait!" I called after her. "Sis, if I'm going to talk to Tsushima, you'll have to help out at the shrine for me..."

"Will I?" She turned in the doorway and grinned at me. "Suguru-kun says he's been really pleased with your work, and you know this clumsy old man, I'd only spoil it..."

"_Sis!_"

But she had gone, leaving the echo of her laughter hanging in the air behind her. I smiled and went to make myself another cup of coffee. She would turn up at the shrine; I knew Mion well enough to know that. Hell, she'd probably put so much vigour into the job that it would get done twice as quickly as if I'd been there. As I said, we're not a bit competitive; we don't go out of our way to score points against each other.

We just don't like losing, that's all.

* * *

><p>Afternoon school was great fun, and my worries about visiting Tsushima were forgotten for a long while. I love teaching. Back when I was at that horrible boarding school my parents made me go to, if you'd said I'd grow up to be a teacher I would have laughed in your face. Then I came home, and Mother put it to me that if I wanted to stay at the Manor, I had to find <em>something<em> I could do in the village that would help cement bonds between the people of Hinamizawa and the Sonozaki family. Mion already had her niche; it was time for me to find mine. I can't remember which of us first suggested teaching, and I may even have laughed at the idea, but the more I thought about it, the more it became first my dream and then my passion. Looking after Satoko and protecting Rika from the Yamainu had awakened in me a nurturing side that I never knew I had. And those club games we played – for the first time in my life, school was a place I associated with fun and not just the endless ritual of tasks and punishments. And when I saw that the younger kids were having more fun because I'd joined the group, that I was helping to bring a smile to their faces – something changed in me then. I felt confident. I felt _cool_. If I stayed here, I could achieve something that I'd never achieved at boarding school or in my family: I could be liked for being me.

At the end of the day, I said goodbye to Akito, watched him and the others heading off to the shrine together, and then walked back to the Manor to get the car. I try not to involve myself in the family business too much, but I've still been to Tsushima's office often enough to have no trouble finding it. The entrance is unassuming. There's a long street, with a row of grubby brick buildings along one side, and the only sign that it hides a Sonozaki clan office is a faded plaque outside the green door. I pushed it open; it's never locked. The passage is unlit, and the walls are bare except for flakes of paint hovering in the air as they try to make up their minds about whether they want to break free. Then a long flight of stairs that goes past a window so grimy you can barely see the street outside, and a door at the top that had once been white. I knocked.

"Who's there?" It was Kenji's voice.

"Sonozaki Mion!" We can both imitate each other's voices nearly perfectly; I can capture exactly the tone of lively nonchalance in which Mion would introduce herself. I don't mean that we ever _learned_ to imitate each other; it just grew naturally out of the games we played, the way we communicated. While I was at boarding school, at every chance I got to talk to Mion I was so glad to hear her voice that I found myself slipping into it, and then after a while she would slip into mine, taking turns with no deliberate effort at all. So, now I needed no preparation before introducing myself as Mion, and I'm sure the Tsushimas had no suspicion of me.

Kenji let me in. The main room of the office was a huge contrast to the passage outside. There was a rich purple carpet, expensive and brightly polished wooden furniture, a comfortable armchair and sofa, and tapestries hanging on the walls. The old man was seated in the armchair, puffing on a cigar, but as soon as I entered he got up to greet me. He was tall and, as I said, rather stout, and wore a wine-coloured shirt that seemed to be straining as it tried to fly off him. I've always said that he reminds me of Christmas, though it may partly be the cosy atmosphere of the office, and the smell of the fire which Shouichi insists on keeping lit, even in summer. But it's also his jovial expression, his broad smile and the flicker of tiny fires in his eyes. He has a thick black beard that hangs below his chin like tinsel, and sparse hair like the spikes of winter trees. Shouichi sat at the desk in the corner, busy shovelling a blizzard of paperwork, and didn't look round.

"Mion-sama!" said Tsushima. "It is such a pleasure to receive you in our humble office. You look positively radiant, my dear."

I returned his smile. I was feeling cheerful, but pretending to be someone who was melancholy and pretending to be cheerful. Well, I was sure Tsushima would remain blissfully ignorant of these nuances. Like all men, he had no fine sensitivity when it came to the emotions.

I settled down onto the sofa. "How are things going?"

"Very well, very well. If you want an account of the family dealings, I'm sure Shouichi here would be happy to talk you through..."

I waved this aside. "Surely, you wanted to talk to me about something more particular?"

"Indeed." For the first time, his perpetual smile seemed to be faltering. "Mion-sama... you really are Mion and not Shion, aren't you?"

"Of course!" I laughed. "Tsushima-san, you should be able to tell us apart by now. Do you need me to show you my tattoo?"

"No need." He made an expansive hand gesture. "Besides, I'm sure that by now Shion has gotten herself one to match. I know how you two love to switch places."

I grinned. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if she has."

It was a bluff, of course; that's an extent to which I would never go. I just couldn't bear the thought of disfiguring myself like that; Satoshi would hate it. And Mion would be able to make jokes about taking my place in bed, if we really became indistinguishable... I know she'd never actually do it, but I doubt I'd be comfortable with those sort of jokes, all the same.

"All right, all right, I believe you," Tsushima laughed.

"And we don't keep secrets from each other, either," I said with a grin. "So, what does it matter which of us you're talking with?"

"It matters," Tsushima said, moving his hand in a little circle. He has lots of idiosyncratic gestures like that; this one means he's nervous but driving himself to go on. "You know how devoted Shion is to her husband, Satoshi-san."

_I mustn't show any emotion..._ "Of course she is! They're deeply in love, just like little kids. It's quite sickening, really." That's probably about what Mion would have said, if she'd been here. "What about Satoshi-kun?"

"I believe his family name before their marriage was Houjou?"

"Of course. I'm surprised you feel the need to ask."

He was studying me intently, watching my reactions, but I made sure not to flinch. "And he was the nephew of Houjou Teppei, wasn't he?"

I couldn't help scowling at the mention of Teppei's name, but then, I'm sure Mion would have reacted in the same way. That man was the scum who hurt my sister Satoko when she was a young child. After their parents' deaths, she and Satoshi lived with Teppei and his wife for two years, and he was cruel to both of them, but Satoko especially. He would often beat her until she took time off school, pretending to be ill, so that we wouldn't have to see her bruises. We got her away from him in the end, but I can _never_ forgive him, and I hope Oyashiro-sama doesn't either.

"Yes, he was," I said, as coolly as I could manage. "What about that man?"

"He's dead."

I refrained from leaping out of my seat and dancing around the room. Mion would have shown more dignity, and so must I.

"Oyashiro-sama be praised," I said with a broad smile.

"I'm not sure it's an occasion for rejoicing," Tsushima said evenly.

"Of course it is!" I said bitterly. "Do you know what that man was?"

"I know very well," said Tsushima. "Houjou Teppei gave us a lot of trouble around about twenty years ago. He was a crook and con man of the lowest order. He worked together with a girl named Ritsuko, and they preyed on vulnerable rich men and got away with large sums of money. And he had the nerve to do this on our patch, but he was just too cunning for us. We could never catch him at it. So in the end, we had to take... certain measures."

I nodded. It was never discussed openly, but we all knew it was Sonozaki agents who had butchered Ritsuko and got Teppei jailed for her murder, finally freeing Satoshi and Satoko from the shadow of fear they had been living under.

"Well then!" I said. "I can't imagine that anyone would be sorry to see the back of scum like that."

"It's more a matter of the unfinished business he left behind him," said Tsushima. "Large sums of money that were never recovered. Even twenty years later, that money might be a small fortune to the person who could lay hands on it."

"I'm not interested," I said breezily. "We have enough money to be getting on with." _Just don't ever let Father know I said that..._

"Yes, but others might be interested," said Tsushima. "Do you remember Sakurahara?"

"Sakurahara? The leader of the Kanahebi?" My heart skipped a beat, and I frowned across at Tsushima. The Kanahebi claimed to have planted the bomb that killed Keiichi and Rena. I had no idea whether it was true, but if it was... well, it didn't matter about letting my emotions show now. I'm sure that Mion would be reacting just the same. "Tsushima-san," I said, "I've never met him."

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting you're not Shion."

I looked up sharply. "Shion's met him?"

"Twenty years ago, not long before Teppei's arrest. She might not remember, but I don't think I'll ever forget that day."

I honestly had no idea what he was talking about, so I had no difficulty about appearing as curious as Mion would have been. "What happened?"

"Let's see," said Tsushima. "It was at a café near here, perhaps the Old Oak. Shion and Kasai-san dropped in to have a drink. They ran into a friend of Shion's, a young red-haired girl. Do you know who I mean?"

"Ryuuguu Rena?"

"Could be, could be. Anyway, _she_ was there to spy on Teppei, because she suspected her father was one of his victims. Teppei and Ritsuko were in the back, meeting with two young men who owed them money and were pleading to be given more time to pay it back. One of those men, I am ashamed to say, was my good-for-nothing son Shouichi. The other was Sakurahara."

I glanced round at Shouichi, who still had his back to us; I don't think he had once looked round. He appeared to be losing his footing and sinking rapidly into the paperwork; his pen ran rapidly back and forth as he tried to dig a way out. Kenji, who had gone into another room, came out with a tray and two cups of tea, and grinned as he placed them on the little table.

I took a deep breath. "Incredible," I said. "I never knew Sakurahara was from these parts."

"Nah, he came from Tokyo," said Tsushima. "His mother wrote to me to ask if I'd let him stay for a while so he would get some work experience."

"What!" I cried. "Tsushima-san... I've never heard this before!"

He leant back in his seat. "It's not something we're proud of," he said. "Of course, we had no way of knowing that he would become... well, Sakurahara. But it's true. He lived here for about a year, isn't that right?"

"Nine and a half months," said Kenji.

I wasn't sure I could believe this. Sakurahara, perhaps the most dangerous, most wanted man in Japan, had once lived in Okinomiya – had been a friend of the Tsushimas – I'd once been in the same room as him! And this was the man who had maybe killed Keiichi and Rena, and we never knew why. If it was him, if I could only know for certain, I would tear him apart for causing my sister so much pain! And Rena had been in the café too that day... did something happen then that started off a chain of events leading to her death, or was it just coincidence? I really couldn't remember that meeting very well at all. I would have to ask Kasai about it.

"What was he like?" I said.

Unexpectedly, it was Kenji who answered. "He was like an older brother."

I turned towards him. "In what way?"

Kenji put down the tray and leant on the side of his father's seat. "Well... he was charismatic. He had this way of making you admire him and want to be like him. He made you think he was proud of you and led you on, and then when he'd had enough of the game, he'd turn around and stomp your face into the dirt as he laughed at you for ever having been so foolish as to think you could aspire to his level. Isn't that what older brothers are like?"

How do you answer something like that? "I... I really wouldn't know," I said. "I never had one." _But I do know that Satoshi was never like that towards Satoko... is it different when it's brother and brother?  
><em>

"He was a pleasant, well-dressed and smartly-spoken man," said Tsushima senior. "But cruel. Very cruel. You could see it in the way he pressed things with his fingers, as if he wanted to give pain even to inanimate objects for the crime of being weak. I realised soon enough that he was leading Shouichi into bad ways, but I didn't know what to do about it. I tried talking to him, pleading to him as a father, opening my heart to him as though he were my own son. He sat there, on the sofa where you're sitting now, nodding and pretending to listen. It wasn't long before I knew that I may as well have been talking to the empty air."

Shouichi still remained silent, except for the endless scratching of his pen.

I was struggling to piece all this together. "So... you think that Teppei's death..."

"Will be of interest to Sakurahara, yes, I do," said Tsushima. "One thing I remember well about him, he never forgave anyone who managed to get the better of him. In his mind, Teppei owes him a debt that he never paid. Perhaps he thinks that, now that Teppei is dead, something will come to light that will reveal where Teppei hid his money."

"Well, perhaps," I said. "But why would he think that? By now, he's probably just given it up as a lost cause."

"I doubt it," Tsushima said solemnly. "And don't you think it's curious that Kikuhara, the first lieutenant of the Kanahebi, should be seen in Okinomiya the next day after Teppei's death?"

I stared at him. "_What?_ You... you're sure of this?"

"Quite sure. I heard it from your uncle, Sonozaki Yoshirou-san. He said that Kikuhara's taken rooms in the Economy, one of his hotels."

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. There was still one last hope. "Tsushima-san," I said, "Teppei was a compulsive gambler. Even if he did swindle a lot of money that was never recovered, it's most likely he frittered it all away."

"But it's equally possible that he had a large win shortly before his arrest, and increased the size of his hoard. And if the Kanahebi have reason to think that's the case... well, either way, I thought I'd better warn you. Because it's very likely now that the Kanahebi will be taking an interest in Teppei's next of kin and legal heir – Sonozaki Satoshi."

He put his drink down and looked me steadily in the eyes. He was not smiling any more.


	20. Part II Ch 3 A Surfeit of Sonozakis

**(o)**

**Return**** to ****Hi****na****mizawa**** II**** – ****Wind-Weaving**** Chapter**

**3  
>A Surfeit of Sonozakis<strong>

I declined Tsushima's offer of another drink, and walked out of the office with my head in a daze. _The__ Kanahebi __are__ going__ to __target__ Satoshi..._ I shook my head. It didn't mean they were just going to kill him; what would they gain from that? Still, they might be planning to kidnap and torture him to get information out of him, or worse, they might kidnap Akito or Kotone... I quickened my pace. I'd been having a recurring nightmare recently that I just couldn't get out of my head, even in my waking hours. I heard Kotone screaming and I couldn't find her, I was running madly around, but no matter where I went, I never seemed to be getting any closer to her. She was suffering, and I wanted so badly to reach out and hold her and tell her that she was safe, and I couldn't!

_I __mustn't __panic._ Even supposing that was the plan, Kikuhara was no threat on his own. He had to be here just as reconnaissance; there was danger, but there was still time. I had to get support, look for allies. Uncle Yoshirou's house wasn't far off, and it took me less than five minutes to get there at a fast walk. Aunt Taeko let me in and ushered me into his study; she was busy elsewhere in the house, and left the two of us alone together.

"Good afternoon," he said, turning round and smiling at me. The study was slightly larger than Tsushima's office, and the furniture simpler and sparser; an oval group portrait hung on the wall, the four Sonozaki siblings and their spouses together at some time before their quarrel. It was very strange to see Hiroshi smiling like that, and to know that Yoshirou had once been slim. Akane looked so youthful, it could almost have been me or Mion in the picture; only Saburou had not changed, but then, with that serious expression of his, one felt he must _always_ have looked old.

Like Tsushima, Yoshirou was a heavy smoker, though he preferred cigarettes, and the air in the study was thick and choky. Still, one has to put up with it, as I'd learned in the days when I worked as a waitress in one of his restaurants.

"Afternoon, Uncle," I said. "It's me, Mion." There was no point in switching identities; just in case he and Tsushima got the chance to compare notes, I didn't want to give either of them any reason to be suspicious of me. Nonetheless, I knew that he would be more guarded towards me as Mion than if I'd been able to tell him who I really was. I'd worked for him for four years and we'd established a good rapport; whereas he was friends with Mion, but nothing more than that. He and Aunt Taeko had found out that they could never have children, for some reason I didn't inquire into, and I think they came to look on me almost as a surrogate daughter.

I settled onto a seat and we exchanged the usual pleasantries – I inquired after his health and Taeko's, and how things were going with his businesses, and he asked after the rest of the family at the Manor. Then – "So, what was it you came here to ask?" he said.

I got straight to the point. "I heard you have a guest in one of your hotels – someone by the name of Kikuhara..."

"Tsushima told you that, no doubt." He leant back and puffed on his cigarette. As usual, he was smartly dressed, in a white shirt, red bow-tie and black jacket. His face was hard and angular, like a jagged cliff, and his hair, once dark brown, had faded almost completely.

I nodded.

"First lieutenant of the Kanahebi," said Yoshirou. "I thought the family might want to keep an eye on him – but this isn't Kanahebi territory. He may just be here for a holiday."

_So__ you__ don't__ have__ any__ suspicions __yourself__ about __why __he's __here...__ that__ must __have__ been__ Tsushima's __own__ deduction..._

"Can't we do anything about him?" I said.

"Not really. It's a hotel, Mion. If someone pays for a room, so long as they're not a nuisance to the staff or other guests, we can't just throw them out for no reason..."

"But – a known criminal!"

"_Suspected_ criminal," Yoshirou said genially. "It would be a bit hypocritical to turf him out for that reason, don't you think? The last thing we want is to make enemies of the Kanahebi..."

"So stage a fight or something. _Make_ a reason to show him the door."

"Mion, Mion!" he chuckled, waving his free hand in the air as if wafting the suggestion away. "We can't do that just because we don't like a guest... it's important to keep up good relations with our neighbours, whether we approve of them or not..."

_In__ other __words,__ you're__ too __afraid__ to__ do__ anything._ I frowned. Yoshirou had always been like this: I suppose it had been fixed into place over the years by the dynamic between the brothers. Hiroshi had always been the grim and frightening one, and Saburou the quiet and cunning manipulator. Yoshirou responded by retreating into the role of the dull-witted time-server, keeping his brothers content by bending to their wishes, whilst quietly making sure he arranged things in a way that suited him. He knew how to get round his brothers when he needed to, all right. But faced with a threat from the outside, someone who couldn't be counted on to show gratitude for past favours, he ended up paralysed just because he was so used to playing dull-witted that it was no longer clear where the boundary between pretence and reality lay.

He was gazing at me, waiting for instructions. I sighed. _Do __you __really __lack __the__ initiative __to __do__ anything__ of__ your __own__ accord,__ Uncle?_

"Just keep an eye on him," I said. "Kasai-san will be our intermediary. Let him know if Kikuhara goes anywhere, especially if that's anywhere near Hinamizawa. And ask the receptionist at the Economy to keep track of his visitors, if he gets any."

"All right." Yoshirou nodded, and rose from his seat to show me out.

* * *

><p><em>So, <em>_now__ what?_ I was more disappointed than seriously shaken; I'd never really expected Yoshirou to be of much help. Hiroshi would have been much better; if he hadn't quarrelled with Mother, there would be no problem. But I couldn't go to him. Well, it certainly wasn't time to get worried yet. I phoned Kasai, and told him to meet me at once in the Old Oak. He would help me out, just as he always did. I knew _just_ how to get round him. He liked to think of himself as big and strong, but I could twist him round my little finger when I wanted to!

I arrived first, ordered a drink, and waited. Kasai was taking his time; I found myself staring at the clock on the wall as it ticked away the minutes, and hoped the other customers in the café weren't staring at me. But after about twenty minutes, the door burst open, scraping its way across the floor so loudly that I didn't even need to look round to know who it was.

Kasai looked exhausted. His whole posture leant forward as though his head had become much too heavy, and one shoulder lolled a few centimetres lower than the other. I got up and pulled out a chair for him, and he dropped into it with a deep sigh of relief.

"Had a bad day?" I said as I sat back down.

He snorted. "Your twin is a most exasperating woman."

"Isn't she just?" I said with a grin. "So self-centred and inconsiderate –"

"– not to mention bossy –"

I was enjoying this, though of course I didn't _really_ mean any of it. "Oh yes, she's a real tyrant. Works everyone to death and does very little herself."

"And talks to everyone as though they were her slaves!"

"No wonder you've had a hard time," I said. "I take it you were helping out at the shrine?"

He nodded. "Somehow, after all these years, I still don't know how to say no to Shion," he said. "I swear, that girl has a way of twisting me round her little finger..."

I blinked in surprise, but he had turned to give his order to the waitress, and I don't think he noticed. So, Mion had told him that she was Shion? That... made things a little more awkward. I couldn't really blame her, though. I hadn't given her any explicit instructions, but she _had_ gone there to take my place. I just hadn't expected her to go out of her way to deceive Kasai.

I sighed. Very well – if I had to let Kasai think that I was Mion, then so be it! It was a part I was used to playing.

"And what about you?" said Kasai, turning back to me. "How was _your_ day? And what are you doing in town, and who have you been seeing and pretending to be Shion?"

"Huh?" I couldn't hide my surprise that time.

He drummed his fingers on the table. "You called me on Shion's phone."

"Oh, that," I said nervously. "We switched phones because... um..."

"All right, you don't have to tell me," he said, shaking his head. "So, what did you call me for? I assume this isn't just a social drink – I know you two well enough for that."

"Right," I said. "Kasai-san, I have a task for you. I think you'll like it – it's rather more in your line than shunting boxes, hammering stands and whatever else Shion had you doing."

"Oddly enough, this does _not_ sound like it will fill my heart with joy. Let's hear it."

I grimaced. _Come __on, __Kasai,__ I __expect__ a__ bit __more__ cooperation __from__ you..._

"I want you to keep an eye on a man named Kikuhara. He's staying at the Economy Hotel."

Kasai nodded. "What does he look like?"

_Shit...__ I__ should__ have __thought __of__ that..._

"Eh, it shouldn't be any problem for you to find out," I said. "A tall, strong, sexy man like yourself – all you've got to do is get chatting with one of the chambermaids, and you'll soon have everything from his taste in neckties to the colour of his underwear."

He closed his eyes. "Mion-san," he said in a tone of much-tried patience, "you ask for too much. I'm a happily married man..."

"Well, get the information however suits you best," I said crossly. "You can't blame me for thinking you'd want to have a little fun while you're doing it, now, can you?"

Kasai ignored this. "So that's it? I'm just to watch this man?"

"Watch him, and try to find out why he's here and what he wants. And also whether he's reporting back to Tokyo, who his contacts are and what they say to each other, if possible."

"Tokyo?" Kasai's face remained expressionless as ever, but his eyes showed a slight trace of perturbation if you knew the signs to look for.

"The city, not the organisation," I said impatiently. "They were finished years ago, you know that. No, he's a member of the Kanahebi, and I want to know why they've sent a man here."

Kasai rested his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands for a moment. "Mion-san," he said when he looked up again, "do you have any idea what you're saying? We can't get involved with the Kanahebi. They're just way too big for us."

I scowled at him. "We just need to show a bit more solidarity!" I said. "The combined strength of the Sonozakis –"

"But they're _not_ combined, you know that."

"But they could be! If we could get everyone together –"

He shook his head firmly. "Don't you go getting any ideas into your head, Mion-san. I know it's a shame, but you can't undo what's been done."

"Kasai-san, this is serious!" I said. "If we don't show them what we can do, they'll start thinking they can just come here and take whatever they like..."

Kasai narrowed his eyes. "When it comes down to it, they _can_ just come here and take whatever they like. The best way to deal with them is to avoid attracting their attention."

"But if they've already sent a man here –"

"We can't start a war over one man taking a hotel room in Okinomiya, Mion-san."

"But he means no good. You _know_ that." I clenched a fist under the table. Why did Kasai have to be so obtuse? If only I'd told him at the beginning that I was Shion, he'd be eating out of my hand!

"We can't know that," he said. "I'll keep an eye on him, but that's as far as we can go."

"_Fine_," I said. "I should have known better than to rely on you!"

We sat glaring at each other across the table. And then –

"Hey, Shion!"

And if there are three sounds in the world that can inspire in me a feeling of utter terror, they are the snap of the Sonozakis' fingernail torture device, Kotone's screaming that haunts my nightmares, and the voice of cousin Karen. I love her to bits, but I _know_ that whenever she turns up, it's a sign of big trouble about to descend.

Mion and I have four first cousins: Uncle Hiroshi has a son, Masashi, who's two years older than us, and Uncle Saburou has three children who are all younger. Karen is the youngest, and ever since we were kids, she's had an insatiable curiosity about everything pertaining to me and Mion and our life in the Manor. Not that Saburou's house is anything to sneeze at – before he retired, he was a Councillor in the Prefectural Assembly – but it doesn't have the ancient history and dark secrets of Sonozaki Manor; nothing like the Labyrinth and torture chambers beneath it.

Karen was scurrying towards us. I glanced round at Kasai. "Don't tell her I'm really Mion," I whispered. I really wasn't sure whether I could get away with this, but I intended to play my hand to the last card all the same.

Kasai raised his eyebrows with a look of sudden understanding. "So that's who –"

"Hey there!" Karen called out merrily as she slipped onto the seat beside me, tossing her head so that her long black hair flicked out behind her. "Good evening, Kasai-san."

Kasai scowled with the side of his mouth that Karen couldn't see, then turned towards her and bowed. "Evening, Karen-chan."

"I'm glad to see you, Karen," I said. "Kasai here was just saying that the Sonozaki family ought to show more solidarity."

"I didn't..."

But Karen didn't seem to have heard. "What do you mean, Shion-chan? We get along fine, don't we?" She nudged me with an elbow. "Though maybe it's time we had a proper get-together. What do you say? Let's have a party at the Manor. I'll tell my brother and sister..."

I blinked. Well, a party didn't sound like such a bad idea; Oyashiro-sama knows we could all do with a little more cheerfulness at times. And as well as that –

"What about cousin Masashi?" I asked her.

Karen's sea-green eyes gazed at me with deep curiosity. "I thought you and Mion didn't talk to Masashi any more."

"Well, maybe it's time us Sonozakis started sticking together a bit more," I said. I shot a triumphant grin at Kasai; he was wearing a grim expression like the last time Akito cooked dinner for all of us and out of politeness we _had_ to eat it. Who says we can't reunite the Sonozakis? Sure, that old stick-in-the-mud Hiroshi won't be easy to bring round, but maybe if we work on Masashi first, he'll have to come round of his own accord.

Karen clapped her hands together. "I think that's a splendid idea!" she said. "Shall we go round to Masashi now? Let him know about the party, and invite him and Yumi?"

"Uh..." I blinked again. _Now?_ I mean, It wasn't that I didn't want to do this. Kasai was right; the Kanahebi were too big a threat for us unless we united against them. But this was all very sudden. I hadn't spoken to Masashi for fifteen years! I wasn't sure I was ready to just turn up at his house with no warning. Besides, I really didn't know what Mion would think if she knew we were proposing to invite Masashi round – without consulting her first.

"I have an idea," I said slowly. "This isn't really a good time for a party; we're all a bit busy with preparations for the Watanagashi festival. But why don't you and the others come and join us at the festival?"

"And we'll invite Masashi and Yumi too?" Her face was alive with excitement.

"Sure!"

That was better. If we got everyone to meet in a public space, there would be a lot less tension than if they came to the Manor. And Mion wasn't planning on coming to the festival. That might be a good thing or a bad one. If we were going to cooperate with Masashi, sooner or later I'd have to get Mion to meet him, but maybe it would be better to get through the festival and then arrange that afterwards. Or, if Masashi agreed to come to the festival, maybe _then_ I could persuade Mion to come so she could meet him. After all, if it didn't go well we could all still enjoy the festival; when you're among two thousand people it's easy enough to ignore someone you're not getting on with. And Mion could hardly object to me inviting Masashi to the Watanagashi; it's a public event and anyone is welcome to come, even from outside Hinamizawa.

"I like it," said Karen. "When is the Watanagashi?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"That soon?" She grinned. "We'd better go and talk to Masashi right now, then!"

"I guess so," I said – though part of me was still thinking, _Karen,__ what__ mess__ have__ you __gotten__ me__ into__ this__ time?_

"Well, you can count me out," said Kasai. "Besides, Mion-san's given me an important job to do, and I'd best be getting on with it."

"We'll be seeing you around, then," said Karen. "Shion, shall we go?"

I nodded. "One last thing, Kasai-san. Don't phone me at the Manor; it's too risky. I'll come round to your rooms tomorrow to hear what you've found out."

"Very well, _Shion-chan_," he said, placing heavy emphasis on the name. I glanced at him warily. Had he guessed who I really was, or was he just showing his distaste at having to pretend in front of Karen? Whatever. Kasai was used to dealing with me and Mion; he would just have to cope.

* * *

><p>And so, a minute later, we were seated in Karen's car. I stared into the distance, breathing heavily, as Karen got it started. I could still hardly believe what we were doing. After Mother's quarrel with Uncle Hiroshi, Mion and I had at first tried to keep in touch with Masashi, inviting him to family occasions like birthdays and my wedding, but soon after Akito's birth he stopped responding, and eventually we gave up trying. Neither Mion nor I received an invitation to Masashi's own wedding, and in a traditional family like ours that was seen as an unforgivable snub. Could we really patch things up after all this time?<p>

But then I thought again of what Tsushima had said about Kikuhara and Satoshi. We _had_ to try! This was a matter of Sonozaki family pride; surely even Hiroshi and Masashi had to see that!

"Have you seen much of Masashi recently?" I asked Karen once we were on the road.

"Barely at all," she said. "You remember what Uncle Hiroshi's like, I'm sure. He meets Dad and Nii-san to discuss family business, but he regards us women as beneath his notice. And Masashi likes to keep to his comfort zone – he wouldn't go out of his way to meet up."

"So, when was the last time you saw him?"

She had to consider for a moment before replying. "Not since my sister's birthday last month. He and Yumi came to the party, but they just sat together the whole time and didn't chat with anyone else."

I nodded. I wasn't at all sure what to expect of Masashi. I don't even know whether he ever really wanted to marry Mion, or whether he just proposed to her to please his father. But surely, now that he was married he wouldn't still hold a grudge against her for refusing him? Besides, Mion had had the full support of both Mother and Oni-baba; it was only Father and Uncle Hiroshi who'd been in favour of the marriage.

Evening was darkening around us as we neared Takatsudo. A red glow lingered in the sky, just enough to outline the houses and turn them into looming shadows. Hiroshi's house was not difficult to spot: he had been determined to create a replica Sonozaki Manor, smaller in scale of course, and without anything like our gardens, but imposing among these small village houses all the same. Only a few lights were on in the house, and one light shone above the gate to illuminate our way inside. Up to this point I'd felt uncertain, but still fairly relaxed; now that the moment had come, though, I couldn't help feeling very tense. Still, I just had to remind myself that whatever kind of reception we got, Hiroshi would never actually _hurt_ a family member. He wouldn't dare.

Karen stepped up ahead of me and rang the doorbell. A little speaker stood next to it, and a buzzer sounded as the signal for her to speak. "Uncle Hiroshi? It's Karen."

"Come in," said a gruff bass voice. Was that Uncle Hiroshi? I didn't know; I had no memory left of what his voice sounded like.

The lock clicked open, and Karen turned the handle, held the door slightly open, and then turned back towards the speaker and added, "Shion is with me."

There was a long silence.

"Karen...," I whispered at last.

"Oh, just come in," she said, taking hold of my arm and dragging me inside.

The passage was gloomy, lit only by a single dim bulb, though a brighter light outlined the closed door at the far end. As one would expect of any Sonozaki house, it was lavishly furnished: beautiful panels of reddish wood lined both walls, and a long row of swords hung from them. Tiny points of light glinted on their edges, giving an impression of extreme sharpness. A little shelf ran along one wall just above eye level, holding a range of trinkets – sculptures in jade and soapstone, in many different styles suggesting the exotic locations they had come from. Amongst these was only one photograph, a group portrait of Hiroshi, Aunt Shinko, Masashi and Yumi. Well, it wasn't as though they had cut themselves off from the rest of the family completely; they'd let Karen in, after all. As to how Hiroshi would receive me, there was nothing to do but wait and find out.

We were not waiting long. I heard footsteps on the stairs, and then Hiroshi appeared before us. He was much as I remembered: tall and grim, with this way of squinting at you that made you wonder whether he was straining his eyes to see you, or else trying to get rid of a speck on his vision that just happened to be located in the exact spot you were standing in. But the years had not left him unchanged. His hair, which had once been green like ours and Mother's, had gone white and mostly fallen away like snow, leaving only a few frosty tendrils sticking up from his head. His face had shrivelled and shrunk back; his chin no longer jutted at you as it had once done, making you feel you needed to take a step back to avoid its sharp edge. His eyes had darkened and receded into the folds of his skin; they looked like two lifeless wooden beads.

He nodded briefly to Karen and then gazed at me, his eyelids flickering rapidly. Well, I must look just as strange to someone who hasn't seen me for fifteen years as he does to me; no point reading any more into it than that.

"Shion," he said at last, and his voice was a faint croak nothing like the tone of cutting contempt I used to associate with him.

I bowed low. "Uncle Hiroshi... it's been a while."

"Did Akane send you?"

He doesn't even call her sister any more.

"No, I came of my own accord," I said, looking up steadily to meet his eyes. "Is Masashi at home?"

He paused. "I'll have to see," he said emotionlessly. I knew this was a lie – he must have known whether Masashi was at home or not – but we were in his house and we had to play by his rules.

"Very well," I said, bowing again. "Karen and I will wait here."

He said nothing more, but nodded and then turned and walked away down the passage and through the door at the end. It closed with a creak behind him.


	21. Part II Ch 4 The House of Swords

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**4  
>The House of Swords<strong>

We waited for a minute or so in uncomfortable silence. A voice within me was telling me to turn and run, and when I tried to ignore it, it started beating its head against the inside of my skull. But I had to resist. I had to be strong for Satoshi!

The door creaked open again. Hiroshi stepped out and glanced at us, and then looked away. His mouth was creased and puckered as though trying to hold back some strong emotion. He stood, slightly stooped, next to the door, clutching the handle and flexing his long, bony fingers back and forth. Karen stepped forward uncertainly. Hiroshi tilted his head towards her.

"Just go in," he said.

Karen took hold of my wrist, and we went forward side by side. We didn't want to appear either too eager or too intimidated, so we just walked on steadily, and tried not to look at Hiroshi.

The door led to a small sitting-room, elegantly furnished with the same red panelling. Two more swords, crossing each other diagonally, hung over the fireplace. The floor was covered in a rich burgundy carpet, with a low table in the middle; there were two couches to either side, and Masashi and Yumi were sitting on these, bending over a game of cards spread out on the table.

They both looked up as we entered, and I had to stifle a gasp. Masashi really had changed. When I'd last seen him all those years ago, he'd been so rugged and handsome that I might have been one of those supporting their marriage, if Mion hadn't been in love with Keiichi. Now, the creases in his face had hardened into ridges, and his black hair was receding, leaving him with a widow's peak from which the hair flapped out like the wings of a bat. A scar ran across one temple, giving the impression that one eye was larger than the other. He had grown a heavy black beard and moustache that did not flatter him at all; but perhaps he just wanted to hide those ridges and the sharp curve of his jaw as well as he could. He stared straight at me, as though Karen wasn't there; at least he was looking at my eyes, but still, I never liked being stared at in that way.

Yumi I had never met before. She was not exactly a beauty, but she had a pleasantly symmetrical face with quiet features, clear skin, and very dark eyes. She smiled timidly up at both of us; I guessed that although she knew Karen, she was still not entirely comfortable around her.

Both of them were too startled to speak at first, so Karen stepped forward and bowed. "Good evening, Masashi-kun, Yumi-san."

Yumi made a polite bow in return. "Good evening, Karen-san..."

"You haven't met, have you? This is my cousin Shion, Aunt Akane's daughter."

"Oh, you must be one of the twins." She broke into a warm smile. "Please, sit down. I've heard so much about the two of you."

I smiled back. Karen stepped forward to take a seat, but I hesitated and looked at Masashi.

"Sit," he said, with a stern frown. "You're here. You may as well."

"Thank you." I bowed and sat on the floor next to Karen; Masashi and Yumi were at opposite ends of the table, and I was next to Masashi's end. "Is he always this laconic?" I whispered to Karen. This wasn't the Masashi I remembered at all. He'd never been talkative, but he had a kind of way of asserting himself that made you feel he'd said a lot more than he actually had.

"No idea," she whispered back.

I grimaced uncomfortably. It was one of those situations where I found myself continually noticing trivial things – a light ache in my side, the way the light created shifting patches of colour on the wall, a faint scent of spices still lingering from the family supper. I couldn't sit still.

Masashi was still staring at me, creasing his lips as he struggled to find words. At last Yumi said, with an obviously fake cheerfulness, "So... Shion-san, is it? Do you live with Akane-san at the Manor? What do you do there?"

I blinked. "I thought you said you'd heard about me."

"Oh, well..." She blushed. "I mean, I've heard a lot about how you look identical to your sister, Mion-san... and I know that Masashi was once in love with Mion-san, so I couldn't resist asking him, what's it like to be in love with an identical twin? Don't you worry that if you got married, you might find yourself sleeping with the wrong one?"

"Yumi!" Masashi exclaimed.

I smiled back at Yumi; she seemed to have warmed towards me, and that made me feel a little more at ease. "Oh, people who know us well can tell us apart," I said. "Can't you, Karen?"

"Absolutely!" Karen said at once. "They're really different when you get to know them – Shion's lively and energetic, and Mion's really thoughtful and sweet – I don't know how to describe it, but you can just _see_ it when you look at the two of them."

Masashi snorted. "It sounds to me like you've got them mixed up."

"Of course not!" Karen laughed. "They've changed a lot in fifteen years, you know."

I hastily changed the subject. "That's a very impressive collection of swords you have in the passage..."

Masashi blinked. "I don't _collect_ them," he said. "I _make_ them. That's my profession."

"So you haven't heard very much about us?" Yumi said gently.

"Well, no," I admitted. "Sorry, Masashi-san. I'm afraid Mother doesn't talk about you very much..."

"No surprises there," he said.

"...but, you know, I'm surprised the family doesn't trade with you. It would be really convenient, as well as sounding more impressive, to be able to say our swords were made by a family member..."

"You really don't know why they don't?" said Masashi. "Mion wouldn't touch anything I made. And I'm not sure I'd want her to have them. I made one specially for her as an engagement present – I can show it to you if you like, because I've never sold that one. She said it wasn't good enough for a real Sonozaki."

"But even disregarding Mion," I said quickly, "you must see that it would be a great opportunity to boost your trade..."

"If it _were_ an opportunity," said Masashi. "The Sonozakis won't trade with me."

"But perhaps we could find a way to reach an agreement..."

He gazed coldly at me for a long while. "Why are you here?" he said at last.

I took a deep breath. "Masashi-san, don't you think it's about time we made some effort to bridge the gap that's grown between us? We never see each other any more; my children haven't gotten to know yours; and I think it's a real shame."

He sighed. "That's all very well to say," he said, "but you know that it's not as simple as saying 'Oh, it would be nice if we could meet...'."

"I know it isn't," I said. "But still – why should we have to be separated from each other like this, just because your father –"

He frowned and sniffed heavily. "Watch what you say about my father."

"I don't mean it was his fault!" I said quickly. "I just meant that this is really a quarrel between our parents. It doesn't have to involve us..."

"But it _does_ involve us," he said. "Father won't meet Aunt Akane, and he doesn't want me to meet her either. Do you suggest we meet in secret without letting them know about it?"

"He can't control you like that!" I burst out.

Masashi gripped the table heavily, as though he was about to rise but was holding himself back. "He is not _controlling_ me, Shion-san. I respect his decision. I have no desire to reopen old wounds."

"You know, if you want to heal a wound properly, you have to put up with some pain."

He glared at me. "And what if neither of us has any desire to heal things between us and Aunt Akane? Why _should_ we?"

"Because you're letting this old quarrel tear your family apart from ours," I responded, leaning forward and glaring right back. "We could be friends! Yumi-san and Mion could make friends. Our children could get to know yours... we're _family_, Masashi-san, like it or not."

"Real family don't stab each other in the back," said Masashi. "As soon as Akane did that, she and her family ceased to be any family of ours."

"Masashi, please!" said Yumi.

He swung round and blinked at her. "What?"

"Don't you think... maybe you should give them a chance?" she said timidly.

Masashi's eyebrows were lowered, and his skin flushed bright red. "We gave them far too many chances already, as Shion here knows quite well," he said. "I even told Mion that for her sake, I'd overlook Akane's treachery and marry her anyway. She told me she never wanted to see my face in Hinamizawa again."

"Huh? Mion said that?"

He glowered towards me. "Like you don't know. Stop pretending to be so ignorant, Shion. She's your sister, after all."

"Maybe so," I said heatedly, "but any arrangement there might have been between you and Mion was entirely your business, so I stayed out of it!"

He gave a snort of contempt. "You could never keep your nose out of your sister's business for more than a few minutes. You really haven't changed, have you?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Masashi had now half-risen, and was glaring down at me with fire in his eyes. "Don't pretend we don't both know what this is about," he said. "Have your family had a quarrel or something? Is Mion feeling lonely without the rest of the family to lean on? She must be pretty desperate, to have you come running to me of all people."

I bit into my lip to fight back the urge to shout. "You're so wrong!" I said. "I'm here of my own accord – as Karen here will tell you." Karen, who had sat still for a long while, with a look of growing alarm as the mood became more heated, nodded fervently.

"So, what then – you want us to come round and surprise Mion with an olive branch? She's really going to like that, you know. Do you know what she said she'd do to me if I ever dared to show up at the Manor?"

I took a deep breath. "Masashi-san, that was fifteen years ago. Whatever was said in anger back then, it doesn't mean she feels like that now! She'd be really pleased to see you!"

"And if she isn't? What will you do then?"

"Masashi, please sit down," said Yumi.

Masashi let out a deep sigh, but he sat.

"Listen," I said. "How about this – I'm inviting you and your kids to the Watanagashi festival in Hinamizawa this Sunday. When you're there, we can try and talk to Mion, and if it doesn't go well, you can still enjoy the festival – you can just pretend she's not there!"

Masashi closed his eyes and breathed steadily. I relaxed as much as I could, and waited.

"No," he said at last.

"No?"

"No, we're not going to come to your festival! I refuse to participate in this ridiculous charade. I know what you're thinking: Mion will have to be polite to us if we show up as guests, and everything will be all hunky-dory. Well, if it's not her real feelings, it doesn't count!"

"And what if it is her real feelings?" I snapped back.

Masashi snorted. "If she really wanted to be reconciled, she would have come here herself instead of sending you to test the waters!"

"I keep telling you, she didn't send me!" I could no longer stop my voice from rising. "You know, maybe the only reason she hasn't been round is that she knows your father wouldn't admit her, but she really wants to be friends again! She's my twin sister, and I _know_ her... I know she regrets this division as much as I do. We're only half a family without you. Maybe all it needs is for one of you to make the first move... Do you really want to spend the rest of our lives like this just because you never tried to find out?"

There was a long silence.

"You make it sound so noble," Masashi hissed. "Why the hell should I want to be reconciled to that woman?"

"How dare you talk about Mion that way?"

"How dare _you_?" he retorted. Something had finally snapped; he pressed his hands into the table to lever his upper body towards me, and shouted, "How dare you come here and talk about making friends, as though you have no idea what that woman is – what she did! That spineless, spiteful little _bitch_ used me as a pawn in her sick game, and now she's doing the same to you, only you're too sweet and innocent to see it!"

"Masashi!" Yumi cried. But we both ignored her.

"This isn't about Mion," I snarled back. "This is about you and me. I came here because _I_ wanted to put the past behind us!"

"You absolute _saint_," Masashi growled.

"Hey, you leave Shion alone!" cried Karen.

"It's okay, Karen," I said, taking deep breaths as I struggled to hold myself together. I had to do this, for Satoshi's sake. "_Please_," I said, looking earnestly as Masashi. "I don't want to take sides between you and Mion. If it will make any difference, I'll hear you out – maybe there is more to what happened than I know about. But I don't see why your quarrel with Mion has to come between us..."

"Perhaps because you're her _identical__ twin__ sister_," Masashi hissed. "How the hell am I supposed to trust you? You're all cut from the same mould. You don't really want a reconciliation, you've got some ulterior motive. Why don't you just admit it?"

"_Fine_," I snapped. "If it makes you feel any better, I _did_ have an ulterior motive, but that doesn't mean I don't want to make friends! I think it would be good if we showed some solidarity as Sonozakis, because it's a tough world and we ought to stand together. Why can't you see that?"

"Huh," said Masashi. "So that's it? Someone's been threatening you, and you thought you'd get _us_ to prop you up. And what do we get out of it in return?"

"Well... of course, the Sonozaki Family would support you, whenever you needed it...," I said quickly.

"_Really_," said Masashi. "You know, we get along just fine here, and all the better for not being involved in your family's quarrels. You make me sick – pretending you want to be friends, when you haven't given us a thought in fifteen years..."

"_That's__ not__ true!_" I cried. "Masashi-san, honestly, I always wished we could make up..."

"Get out."

He wasn't even looking at me any more. He was staring down at his own clenched fist.

"Masashi-kun!" Karen cried. "Please just listen to me..."

He looked up at her. I remained silent; I knew that at this point, anything I said would only make him more angry.

"I know what you're saying," said Karen. "You _have_ got along just fine on your own. But really, if you think about it, that's only because everyone knows the Sonozaki family would protect you if there was an outbreak of hostilities. So if they're threatened, it's in your best interests to cooperate with the main family. Don't you see that?"

"Well, at least you don't try to disguise what you want from us," said Masashi. "But I'm sorry, I'd rather take our chances by ourselves. Better that than ally with people who've already proved they have no compunction about backstabbing their own family members."

"But the Sonozakis aren't like that!"

"...says the woman who's not-so-secretly in love with her sister's husband."

"Masashi!" I cried.

He snorted. "What, did you think this was some kind of big secret? I wouldn't be surprised if the greengrocer's delivery boy knows by now."

Karen rose to her feet. "You think you're so big just because you make swords," she growled. "I won't let you talk to me like that." She was quite openly twirling a shuriken between her fingers. "You stubborn fool. Fine, then – let the Sonozakis be wiped out, it's none of your business. But who will you run to for help when it's your turn?"

"Put that thing away – little kids shouldn't play with sharp toys," said Masashi. He stood up and turned away from us. "Both of you, get out. You're not welcome in this house again."

"Masashi-kun..."

"You have nothing to complain about," he said, still facing away. "You chose your side, Karen."

"Why does everything have to be about sides?" she cried. "I just want there to be peace between us, so we can face this threat together! Is that really so much to ask?"

"I'm sorry, Karen," he said. "I did you an injustice."

There was silence. She stood up and looked steadily at him, waiting hopefully.

"You really are just as deceitful as your cousin," he said. "Get out, and don't come back."

* * *

><p>And so, a minute later, we were back in the car, making slow progress along the narrow, winding road back to Hinamizawa. Karen gripped the wheel tightly, her face tightly clenched.<p>

"I guess that could have gone better," I said.

"No kidding," she said coldly.

"Karen, I'm sorry..."

"For what? It was my own stupid fault. I shouldn't have reacted so much when he said..."

I sighed. "I know, but still, I dragged you into all this. Now I've ruined your friendship with Masashi..."

"Hah," she snorted. "Friendship with that jerk isn't worth my time. I should be thanking you for helping me to see his true colours." She took a heavy swerve, and there was silence for a moment as I shuddered in my seat. "So, are you going to tell me the full story?" she said at last.

"I... what do you mean?"

"Oh, come now," she said. "Even that idiot could see there's more going on than you were telling us. Who has been threatening you, and why?"

I was silent for a long time. Should I tell Karen about Kikuhara, the Kanahebi, all of that? I wasn't sure. She couldn't do anything. Everyone was too afraid of them. She might be able to talk to Uncle Saburou... but Saburou's role in the family was to keep up our good standing by making it look like we were just your average political family, with everything clean and above-board. He wielded considerable power in the local region, thanks to his role in the Assembly, but I still couldn't see what he could do to help with this. And telling Karen would be too dangerous. I love her to bits, but she's the last person I'd trust with a secret. I would just be bringing her into danger as well.

"You sure there's no-one you'd like me to bump off for you?" she said.

I sighed. "Please, Karen-chan, don't joke about things like that."

"I'm not joking! For you, I really would, if you needed me to..."

"Karen, you're my cousin, not an assassin..."

"Graduated with distinction from the Okuzaki Ninja School," she said proudly.

"And that's not a real qualification..."

"Of course it is!"

"Then how come no-one else has ever heard of it?"

She grinned. "It's a ninja school, silly. It has to be kept secret!"

"_Right_," I said. "Karen, just... just let me handle this in my own way, all right?"

"All right," she said. She sounded a little disappointed.

We both remained in silence until we reached Hinamizawa. By that time, I had made up my mind what to do. I knew I couldn't really handle this by myself; I had to find an ally.

"Drop me here, please," I said as we passed the entrance to the road leading to the clinic.

Karen drew the car to a halt and looked up at the sign. "Going to the clinic, Shion-chan?"

"Yes. But it's okay, I can walk the rest of the way."

"All right," she said slowly. "And... there's really nothing I can do for you?"

"You've already done enough," I said. "Sorry... I didn't mean that in a bad way."

"I know," she said. "Take care, all right?"

I nodded, and climbed out. Once the car had disappeared, I didn't walk up to the clinic; that was just an excuse, a way to stop Karen asking awkward questions. It was also a convenient location, just a short walk from my real destination. It was now late evening, and she would surely be home! I could have phoned beforehand... but you never know who might be standing close by. No, it was better this way. I tightened up my jacket and headed off.

I arrived at Satoko's house less than ten minutes later.


	22. Part II Ch 5 The Trapmaster

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**5  
><strong>**The Trapmaster**

The gate to Satoko's front garden looked simple enough, until you realised that two latches had to be lifted to free it, but they were linked by rods that made it seemingly impossible to lift both at once. This was, of course, just one of Satoko's traps for unwanted visitors, and I knew that the secret was to press a half-hidden button in the ground with my foot; this lifted one of the rods so the latches could be moved separately. I closed the gate carefully behind me and made my way to the front door, walking round the edges of the doormat so as to avoid the trapdoor underneath it.

It was Azusa who answered my ring. She has always been something of an enigma: she is ostensibly the sister of Satoko's late husband, Takumi, but I've always had a kind of sneaking suspicion that it was Azusa herself that Satoko was really interested in, and that her marriage to Takumi was a ruse so that they could live together without arousing suspicion. It wouldn't even surprise me to learn that they'd planned all along to pretend he died after two years so that he could disappear and be free to marry someone else. I've never asked Satoko whether any of this is true; that's her business, unless she ever decides she wants to talk about it.

Azusa showed me in to the passage, and I took off my outdoor shoes. Emi, the golden retriever, was resting in her basket; she was too old now to come running up to say hello, so she just glanced up at me and wagged her tail. I could hear voices coming from the television in the lounge, and someone moving about upstairs. A pleasant woody smell filtered through from Azusa's workshop.

Azusa tilted her head and called up. "Satoko! Nee-nee's here!"

I smiled. That was what Satoko used to call me when we were younger, when Satoshi disappeared and I first started taking care of her. After Satoshi came back, she decided she was too grown up for such a nickname, but Azusa seems never to get tired of it.

And talking of Satoko –

She came bouncing down the stairs in a series of leaps, landing at the bottom and greeting me with a broad grin. Some things never changed; it didn't matter how much time passed or how busy she was, she was always this happy to see me. We hugged each other, and then just stood together for a moment, smiling and sharing a feeling of warmth. As always, I was struck by what a contrast they made when they stood side by side. Satoko is the shortest of our group of friends, and Azusa is even taller than I am. Satoko has messy blonde hair that comes just below her shoulders, while Azusa's hair is black, straight, and very long. Satoko has red eyes, while Azusa's are a cold ice-blue. They are both slim, but Satoko has bulky, strong arms like her brother, while Azusa's arms are so long and thin, you would think a touch might snap them like twigs.

"Please come in and have some tea, Onee-sama," said Satoko. "Tell me, what brings you round at such a late hour?"

"I hope I'm not disturbing you," I said as we went through to the kitchen. "Where's Saki?"

"Upstairs doing her homework," said Satoko. "She's been a very good girl tonight; she hasn't left her room once since dinner."

"How do you know?"

Satoko smiled, and pointed to a little bell just inside the kitchen, hanging on a thread that went up to the ceiling. "This would ring if she opened the door."

I blinked. "Isn't that a bit –"

"Oh, it's not _just_ to make sure she gets on with her homework, but it does come in handy for that too," Satoko said with a broad grin. "Now, would you like some tea?"

"Thanks – I could really do with that right now."

She sat down, and I sat opposite her; Azusa came in and closed the door, but remained standing. Satoko reached towards the wall and pulled a lever; immediately the cupboard above it opened, and a shelf slid out and came to a stop right in front of me, holding a range of teas for me to choose from. Her house is full of gadgets like this. It's not that she's lazy and wants to save herself the trouble; she just loves to invent them, and Azusa loves to help her build them.

I chose the jasmine tea, and Satoko pulled the lever back up, the shelf retracted, and the cupboard doors closed. Then she turned a wheel that made a sort of circular dumb-waiter rotate, sending the toaster away and bringing the kettle into view in its place. Azusa made tea for all of us, and sat down close by Satoko as I took the first grateful sip. I didn't mind her being there. I'd known all along that if I wanted to talk to Satoko, that meant both of them. I'll never have the same bond with her that I have with Satoko, who is like a sister to me, but she is still a close friend. And more than anything, I like her because I know that she makes Satoko happy and has done so much for her, both with running their business and with helping her bring up Saki.

"You look exhausted, Nee-nee," Azusa said.

"No kidding," I said. "I've had a very trying day."

"Sorry to hear that, Onee-sama," said Satoko. "Do you want to tell us about it?"

"Sure." I took another sip of tea to help myself feel ready. "You remember cousin Masashi, don't you?"

She scowled. "That idiot. I thought you had nothing to do with him these days."

"So did I," I said slowly. "But... well, I thought maybe it was time for us to make friends again. You know, put the past behind us, that sort of thing."

"I take it it didn't work out," said Azusa.

"You can say that again," I said. "He practically shoved Karen and me out the door, and told us not to bother coming back."

Satoko reached across and gently stroked my arm. "I'm sorry, Onee-sama," she said. "Tell me, why was it that you wanted to make friends again?"

I took a deep breath. I didn't want to worry Satoko, of all people – after all, she was Satoshi's sister – but she had a right to know! We'd made the most solemn promises that we would never have secrets from each other.

"It's like this," I said. "I heard from Tsushima that there's a lieutenant of the Kanahebi staying in town. Tsushima thinks the Kanahebi are after Teppei's money, now that he's dead – and I'm worried that Satoshi may be in danger."

Satoko took all this with no change in her expression, even when I mentioned Teppei's death. I realised as soon as I said it that maybe I should have let her know some other way – but she looked as if she already knew about it somehow or other.

"I'm not surprised you're looking a bit rough," said Satoko. "But don't worry, we won't let them hurt my brother, will we, Azusa?"

"Definitely not!"

"But what can we do?" I said.

"Eh-heh." Satoko grinned. "Don't forget, you're talking to Hinamizawa's number one trapmaster!"

"As if I'd ever forget that," I said, thinking back to the days of our club games. "Still, I don't think traps would be enough to stop the Kanahebi..."

"Then let's go back to your idea of uniting the Sonozakis so you can stand against them."

"Fat chance," I said with a scowl. "I'm not having anything more to do with that creep Masashi, not unless he comes _crawling_ to beg for forgiveness."

"Right!" said Satoko, clapping her hands. "So let's arrange for that to happen."

I stared at her. "Even you, Satoko..."

"Rule five of trapmastery: never underestimate your opponent," Satoko said earnestly. "So, let's see. You wish to make your cousin get down on his knees and beg you for forgiveness. Since he chooses to be so stubborn, there's not much point in trying to make him see reason about your argument, so I won't need to ask you for details about what was said." She winked at me. "Instead, we need some other way to get him to see you more favourably. And there's no point in taking half-measures. No, what's needed is for you to save his life, and then he'll owe you one. Sonozaki code of honour!"

Azusa was smiling appreciatively. I blinked. "But, Satoko..."

She ignored me. "The question is, what could we use to put his life in danger?"

"I'm sure you could come up with a trap," said Azusa. "Something along the lines of a tree falling on him, perhaps?"

Satoko shook her head. "No, that won't do. How would we explain Onee-sama just happening to be there at the right moment to save him?"

"Hmm." Azusa frowned thoughtfully. "Make him fall into a big pit in the woods? We could leave him there for a couple of days, until search parties were sent out, and then Nee-nee could just happen to be the one who finds him."

From the way Satoko smiled, I got the impression she thought it was cute of Azusa to try to come up with ideas when she, Satoko, was the undisputed master. "Masashi-san would be able to phone Yumi-san and tell her where to find the pit. Unless we took his phone off him – but that would also look suspicious."

"Damn, I hadn't thought of that," said Azusa.

Satoko reached out and tenderly clasped her hand. "It's all right. The thing is, if we used a trap, he might be grateful to Onee-sama, but it would still only show that she was in the right place at the right time. What we need is for Onee-sama to put her life at risk to save him."

"_Satoko!_"

"I mean, of course, that that's how it must appear to Masashi-san."

"But... how are you going to do that?"

"I think the danger must come from a _person_," Satoko said steadily. "Now then, do we know of anyone who has a reason to wish him dead? Other than you, Onee-sama, that is to say."

"He's a Sonozaki," said Azusa. "There must be lots of people who'd like to see him out of the way. Local farmers, small tradesmen, that sort of thing."

"True. However, we don't want to tangle anyone innocent up in this. There would be a danger that Masashi-san or Hiroshi-san would find out who Masashi's attacker was, and take reprisals..."

She blinked, and when she looked back up at me, her eyes seemed to have gained a new sparkle. I knew she had thought of something, and I shuddered and closed my eyes.

"What is it?" said Azusa.

"This Kanahebi lieutenant. _He_ must be the one to threaten Masashi's life, and then we can kill two birds with one stone. Masashi will beg you for forgiveness, the attention of the Kanahebi will be focused away from my brother, and you can get the lieutenant locked up, or just quietly tell him that the Sonozakis will be after him, and he should catch the next train out of town if he values his fingernails." She paused to draw a deep breath, and smiled up at me. "How about that?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Satoko... do you have any idea what might happen if this goes wrong? The Kanahebi are dangerous!"

"So are all trap-making materials; that's why it takes a skilled trapmaster to handle them carefully." Satoko reached over and touched my arm again. "Don't worry, Onee-sama. You're safe in my hands, I assure you. After everything my brother did to protect me, it will be a real pleasure to be the one protecting him for once." She grinned. "And I can't wait to see his face when he finds out that we saved his life. That will really be something!"

I frowned. "He might be a bit mad that I didn't tell him sooner..."

"Yes, but we all know he'll forgive you because he _lurves_ you so much," Satoko retorted.

I ignored this. "But... how are you going to do it?"

Satoko thought in silence for a while.

"Well," she said at last, "this Kanahebi lieutenant – what is his name, by the way?"

"Kikuhara."

"We have to give Kikuhara some reason for believing that Masashi-san knows about Teppei's money. How old is Masashi?"

"Slightly older than me. Thirty-eight or thirty-nine."

"So, he must have been around nineteen when Teppei disappeared. It would be entirely possible for him to have been one of Teppei's debtors, who got his own back by robbing him..."

I grimaced. "I suppose it's _possible_. But why should Kikuhara get that idea? He doesn't even know that Masashi exists!"

"Heh. That's where I come into it, Onee-sama."

"What do you mean?"

"You're forgetting that I'm also Teppei's niece. Let's imagine that it was Masashi who stole the money... you could even suppose that I helped him. I would have done, as well." She turned away and scowled, and a shudder ran through me. I knew she was dwelling on memories, still painful, of the way Teppei had beat her until she was terrified of him. Wounds like that will never entirely heal.

"What money is this?" Azusa said quietly, as she stroked Satoko's fingers with hers.

"Uncle Teppei's secret hoard. There have been rumours about it for years..."

"And are they true?" She was much too elegant to grin, but her eyes glinted.

"Ho-ho... do you think I'd tell you if I knew?" Satoko laughed. "No, Teppei always made sure he kept his money well out of our reach – as you have to do when you have a trapmaster in the house."

"So, you don't know whether the money really exists?" I said.

"I'm afraid I have no idea. You know that after Aunt Tamae's death, he fled the village for fear of Oyashiro-sama's curse, and he tried to drag me away with him, but I'd grown stronger by then, so I ran away and went to live with Rika-chan. I really don't know anything about his life after that, nor would I wish to."

"Hmm." I scowled; all this fuss and anxiety over a sum of money that might not even exist! If only we could _prove_ it didn't exist, the Kanahebi would leave us alone; but I didn't see any way we could do that.

"Let's backtrack a bit," I said. "All right, suppose that you helped Masashi steal the money. How would Kikuhara know that? You're not proposing to go and _talk_ to him, are you?"

"Of course!"

"But, Satoko..."

She grinned at me with clenched teeth and narrowed eyes, and I knew that she was fixed on some idea. "It's all right, Onee-sama. _I_ won't be in any danger. Kikuhara will be very pleased to see me, when he hears what I've come to tell him."

"And afterwards?" I said. "What if he decides that the fewer people who know what he's come for, the better?"

Satoko's stare became fierce. "_Never_ underestimate a trapmaster," she said. "He doesn't know what Teppei's niece Satoko looks like, so I'll go to him in disguise. Then once the trap is set, the disguise will disappear, and he'll never recognise that Fujiura Satoko is the same person."

I blinked. "I suppose it might work... but Satoko, it's still such a huge risk..."

"_I know_," she said. "Do you think that just because I smile and laugh when I talk about it, that means I'm not aware of the danger?" She clenched her fist. "I thought you knew me better than that, Onee-sama. I'm just warming myself up, so that I won't seem afraid when I face Kikuhara. Please don't spoil it by trying to tell me about the risk. I would risk a lot more than this for you and my brother."

"Just be careful," Azusa said gently, "for my sake."

"I promise."

She sighed deeply, and then sighed and got up to clear away our empty teacups.

"How will you explain how you knew he's looking for Teppei's money?" said Azusa.

"Oh, that part's not difficult," Satoko said airily. "I'll just say that I heard it from an anonymous source, and he will have no reason to question that. People like him are used to dealing with anonymous sources, aren't they, Onee-sama?"

I nodded.

Satoko put the last cup away, then swivelled round and clapped her hands. "Right!" she said. "That's all taken care of. Now it's time to just chat and enjoy being together."

In spite of how worried I felt, it was impossible not to smile at her sudden change of mood. "I wouldn't mind that," I said. "How's the business going?"

"It's going very well," said Satoko. "Though it is difficult to keep up with demand while we're so busy getting ready for the Watanagashi festival. And how are you, Onee-sama?" She sat back down and studied me intently. "You don't look well."

"I haven't been sleeping well for a long time now," I said.

"Nightmares?" Satoko said quietly.

"I keep hearing Kotone screaming. And I'm running and trying to find her, but I never seem to get any closer to the sound..." I shuddered. I didn't want to think about this!

"I know how you feel," said Satoko. "It's the anxiety of being a mother."

I looked hopefully up at her. "You... have you been having nightmares too?"

"Horrible ones," said Satoko. "In mine, I can't even hear Saki screaming but I know that she's in pain, and when I reach her it's too late, she... she's just lying there... and the blood..."

It was unnerving how quickly she seemed to break down. She screwed up her face and sobbed, every now and again flinching as though an electric shock had hit her.

"Please don't," said Azusa.

"I... I'm sorry..."

I got up and went over to Satoko, taking her in my arms just as I remembered doing all those years ago, when she had been so badly hurt that I was the only one she trusted to touch her.

"Don't be sorry," I said. "It's better to talk about these things. It's just a silly nightmare, and it will go away now you've shared it. You're a big, strong girl now, and you mustn't let things like this upset you – right?"

Satoko smiled. "Thank you, Onee-sama," she said. "I try my best not to, but..."

"But what?" I said. "Come on, you don't seriously think anyone would want to hurt Saki-chan, do you?"

"I don't know," Satoko said, a little more calmly. "It's just impossible not to worry. We do attract a lot of envy, because of our connection with the Sonozakis, and you know, I don't really think that any of our rivals would do _that_ to Saki, but considering the kinds of enemies the Sonozakis make..."

"But we can take care of them," I said. "No-one would dare hurt anyone who's under the protection of the Family."

"Except, apparently, the Kanahebi..."

I scowled. "Yeah, but they have no reason to target any of the kids. Don't worry about it. Besides... I just _know_ Satoshi will be safe with you and Azusa taking care of him."

Satoko was smiling again. She looks so beautiful when she smiles.

"That's the spirit," said Azusa. "After all, we're talking about the greatest trapmaster in the prefecture here!"

"Only the best in the prefecture?" said Satoko. "I must be slipping."

"She's so modest about it, as well."

I laughed. "Modesty is for those who have something to be modest about. After what we went through to defeat Takano, we _know_ we're something special. Not many people could have done that!"

"I wish I could have been there," Azusa said with a sigh.

Satoko squeezed her hand again. "You're one of us now, don't forget that," she said. "The Yamainu wouldn't have had a chance against your amazing inventions."

Azusa blushed. "But most of them are your ideas."

I grinned. "Why don't we just say you two make an awesome team, and leave it at that?"

"I suppose we could say that," said Satoko.

"Suits me," said Azusa.

I left their house in much better spirits. For the first time since I heard Tsushima's news, I really felt confident that we could deal with Kikuhara and this would soon all be over. It was very late now, and I was looking forward to getting a good long sleep for once. Perhaps, just for one night, I would be free of nightmares about Kotone. I certainly hoped so.


	23. Part II Ch 6 Saturday

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**6  
>Saturday<strong>

Sleep took a long time to find me. I lay there for what seemed like hours, listening to the cicadas chirruping away outside, and watching the soft billowing of the curtains. An owl was hooting in the distance, and I could hear the footsteps of the guards along the courtyard, not as quiet as they should have been. Still, knowing that they were there helped me to feel safe, for now at least, and that was something. Next to me, Satoshi lay still, his face turned towards me, rocking gently back and forward as he snored with a steady rhythm: in, out, in, out. It had a soothing regularity to it.

I smiled, and stretched out an arm and touched him gently; he did not respond. I think he must have worn himself out, shunting boxes around all day. Now he was lost somewhere in his own dreams, somewhere I could not follow him. I wished I could. He was in a place where there were no worries, no menacing gangs, no family quarrels to cause him alarm.

That was odd... a thought suddenly struck me. If Satoko already knew about Teppei's death, why hadn't she told Satoshi? Was she trying to protect him, because she already suspected he might be a target?

I sighed and turned over. Why was I still worrying about all this? I had to put it out of my mind, and think only about getting a good night's sleep so that I would be ready for school. It would never do to appear in front of the children, all dizzy and bleary-eyed from lack of sleep. I stole a glance at my alarm clock. Half past two already? That meant I had to be up in just four hours. I groaned. Still, at least it was Saturday; I could just let the children have fun for most of the day, and rest in my chair and hope that Akito would help keep the younger ones well-behaved. With the Watanagashi festival being the next day, they would be in no mood to work, and the main thing was to keep them occupied so they wouldn't get too rowdy.

I must have fallen asleep in the end, for the alarm clock woke me so suddenly that I thought for a moment the fire alarm had gone off. Then I realised what it was, stretched out a hand to turn it off, and let out a deep sigh. Well, I had to get up now, so I crossed over to the basin and splashed cold water on my face. It stung me with little pinpricks of pain that just lay there and slowly sunk into my skin. Damn it! Why was I still so worried? Satoko would sort everything out. I trusted her. Still, I suppose it was only natural for me to worry. Mion's words at breakfast the day before kept coming back to me: "I thought you knew how to stick up for yourself better than this!"

Was that it? Had I, Sonozaki Shion, forgotten how to stick up for myself? Had so many years of being married to a strong man, feeling secure and safe in the house where I had once been an outsider, made me soft? The battle with Takano, and Nomura's attack on the clinic the day after, had been the last time I'd needed to protect anyone. Now Satoko was a strong girl who could stand up against my entire family when she had to, even better than I could; and Kasai and the others were always around to protect me whenever there was trouble with the family dealings. To be sure, I could still wear a strong mask for the children. They liked to hear my stories of the old days, and to talk about me as if I was some kind of legendary hero – only in a spirit of fun, you understand. But I knew that really, they saw me as sweet and gentle, and, to be honest, I _liked_ that. Where had my old confidence gone? What had happened to the Sonozaki Shion of the old days?

I glowered at myself in the mirror for a while, as if scowling and banishing my happy thoughts could somehow bring the old Shion back, but all it did was make me look as if a wasp had stung me. I looked so absurd that I burst out laughing, and went down to breakfast in a much better mood. I would just have to be strong, that's all! I would go down and meet the family, as I did every other day, and smile at them as they smiled back at me, without giving them reason to have the slightest breath of suspicion as to what was on my mind.

And then there was the school day to get through...

The first sign of trouble came when Kizuna ran off in a flood of tears during the art lesson. I wasn't surprised. She'd been a bundle of nerves the whole morning; of course she was anxious about the festival, since she would be playing the leading role in the ceremony instead of Rika for the first time ever. As soon as Kizuna slammed the door behind her, Saki lifted herself vigorously from her seat, looked round to see whether anyone else was going to do anything, and then hurried off after her. I sat and watched her go, and then a thought struck me and I glanced at Kotone. She and Kizuna were so close, it felt a little strange that she hadn't been the one to run off and comfort her friend.

Kotone, who was busy splashing green paint over a large sheet of paper (and some on Miaka's dress), looked up and noticed that I was watching her. She beamed back at me. "She'll be all right, Mother," she said. "She's just a bit nervous, but you know how strong she is."

"I certainly do," I said. I leant back in my seat and exhaled deeply. My muscles ached. I would be glad indeed when the day was over. Well, the rest of the class were busy with their paints and their sculptures, and it looked like they were having fun and could cope by themselves for a few minutes. I relaxed and closed my eyes for a moment, but I didn't want to fall asleep, so I looked around the room and watched.

In the centre of the room, Miaka was showing Naoya how to hold his paintbrush correctly; he was doing his best to imitate her, but he kept letting it slip and making splotches on the canvas, which Miaka then had to tidy up for him by going over them in white. Akito was concentrating intently on some small detail, and seemed irritated by the noise of their conversation, even though they were being quiet, almost whispering. At last he threw down his brush with a grunt, scraped his chair back, and walked up to talk to me.

"Hey, do you think we're going to manage to get everything ready in time for tomorrow?"

"I'm sure we will," I said. "Suguru-kun says it's going really well, and he's ever so grateful for all your help."

"And Yanagida-san hasn't given you any trouble?"

I blinked. "That idiot? He wouldn't dare interfere with the Watanagashi. Why do you ask?"

Akito glanced towards the door as if to check whether Kizuna and Saki were returning. "Well," he said slowly, "I heard from Kichi that he's been causing trouble... making threats..."

I sighed, and tried to lift myself up a bit and force myself more awake. My neck hurt horribly. "What kind of threats?" I said.

"Oh, the usual nonsense," said Akito. "He thinks Oyashiro-sama's curse is going to strike again, and one person will die and one person will disappear during the festival."

"He's been saying that every year since before you were born. Don't worry about it."

Akito lowered his voice. "This might be more serious. Apparently, he's been visiting the shrine and talking with Rika-sama in private. Kichi says that each time, after he leaves, Rika-sama looks... I don't know, not exactly _upset_, but gloomy, as if she knows something bad is going to happen and she's resigned herself to it..."

"No wonder Kizuna's been looking peaky," I said. "I wonder if I should talk to Rika..."

Kotone, who had slipped from her seat and come up to us quite silently, tugged on his sleeve. "You shouldn't have said anything, big brother," she said. "Kizuna-chan didn't want anyone to know."

"How very like her," I said with a sigh. "Akito, I look to you as the club leader. What do you think it would be best to do for her?"

Akito thought for a moment, and then smiled. "Best to give her lots of work to do so she doesn't have time to dwell on it," he said. "And we'll have plenty of chances to do that at the shrine this afternoon."

"I think that's very wise," I was saying, when the door burst open with a loud bang.

"Aunt Shion!" Saki called out – it was Saki, of course. "Uncle Satoshi's here to see you!"

"Oh!" I jumped up, and hastily smoothed down my hair, which had gotten a bit untidy as I'd been resting. Damn it, there wasn't a mirror in the classroom. I just hoped it didn't look too messy. I straightened out my clothes and tried to fix my mouth into a welcoming smile. "Um... what does he want? Why haven't you brought him in with you?"

I hurried towards the door, while Saki walked calmly back to her seat. The moment I reached the corridor, she called out to me, "Aunt Shion?"

I looked back.

"You're so easy to fool," she said quietly.

I stood for a moment, glaring at her with all the fury I could muster. She tossed her hair merrily, meeting my glare with a broad grin that showed off her sparkling spikes of teeth.

I strode across the room towards her. All around the room, I could see faces turning towards me, but I disregarded them. I leant heavily down on Saki's desk.

"I should put you in detention for that," I said.

"But you won't because we're all needed at the shrine," Saki returned cheerfully.

"I let you get away with far too much," I snarled.

"That's because I'm so cute that you can't bear to see me unhappy," she lilted.

"_Cute?_" I snorted. "I've seen cuter things in Rena's junkyard."

She leant across and prodded Naoya in the shoulder. "Aunt Shion's hurting my feelings, Naoya-kun..."

"Ouch!" He nearly jumped out of his seat. "Stop that! Now I've got blotches all over the paper again!"

I sighed. This was rapidly degenerating into one of my less successful lessons.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Saki," I said. "Where's Kizuna-chan? Why didn't she come back with you?"

"I... I'm here, Sonozaki-sensei," said a small voice from behind me.

I turned round. Kizuna was standing nervously in the doorway, pressing her hand into the frame to try to stop herself shaking. Her eyes were red, and she was staring down at the floor.

The room was silent for a moment. I felt the urge to go over and ask her what was wrong, but I knew it would upset her too much to have to explain in front of the class. I couldn't take her out of the room, either, not when Saki was in such a mischievous mood. In the end, I just gave Saki a dark look, told Kizuna to sit down, and went back to my seat.

"Now, let's get on with the lesson, everyone," I said, "and no more noise."

* * *

><p>I felt a sense of huge relief when the bell for lunch break finally rang. There was immediate hustle as everyone started pushing the tables together, and I just walked out of the room as fast as I could so that I could finally have some peace and quiet. I didn't even make my tea first; I just dropped straight down onto the sofa.<p>

Something under the seat at once rebounded, and the seat buckled under me and I landed heavily on the floor.

This was too much! I needed my rest, damn it, and if I wasn't even going to get that...

I threw open the classroom door with a loud bang. Kizuna squealed, and her chopsticks fell from her suddenly limp hand.

"Fujiura Saki, _come here at once!_" I shouted.

The other club members all sat still, even their expressions frozen as though time had stopped around them. No-one dared to look round as Saki, wearing a stern and determined frown, detached herself from the group and stood up to face me.

"Come here," I said again.

She pushed her chair back and walked steadily forward, her expression unchanging. I led her out of the room and down the corridor to the staffroom. As soon as we were inside –

"What the hell has got into you?" I said, grabbing her by the wrist and holding her against the wall.

"_Hey!_" she cried. I bit into my lip. I didn't like hurting her, but it was about time she had a little sense shaken into her.

"You be quiet," I hissed.

"But Aunt Shion, I haven't done anything..."

"You know exactly what you've done," I said. "I am so disappointed in you. This stupid fascination with traps: I should have made sure I stamped it out of you long ago, but Satoko is such a sentimental _fool_ sometimes..."

Saki slipped from my grasp, and whirled round and slapped me.

I stood for a moment in complete shock, utterly dumbfounded. Saki also stood still, tense and trembling, waiting to see what I would do.

I didn't give her time to react. I jumped forward and grabbed her by the front of her blouse and pushed her against the wall.

"Fujiura Saki, _explain yourself!_" I shouted.

She said nothing, but sniffed and quivered. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. Well, I was glad that she had some shame, at least.

"You have no right to speak about my mother like that!" she cried. "She's your own younger sister!"

"And as the older sister, it's my place to discipline her when she steps out of line, just as it's my place to discipline _you_," I returned.

"That's not true!" cried Saki. "Aunt Mion is the eldest! It should be up to her to decide what you're allowed to do!"

"Yes, well, Mion isn't here," I said, "and besides, this school is my territory!"

"Really?" Mion said quietly.

My grip slipped and Saki slid to the floor. Slowly, I turned round. "_Sis!_"

"What's all this?" she said. She was smiling gently, showing no trace of surprise. "Did I hear you correctly? Satoko's been sneaking back into school to lay traps? How very enterprising."

"No, you don't understand," I said quickly. "It was this little viper who –"

"_I didn't!_" Saki screamed. "Aunt Mion, I swear I didn't do anything!"

Mion looked from one of us to the other. "What happened?"

I sighed. It looked like my chances of having a lunch break were rapidly disappearing. "Saki hid a trap under the sofa so that when I sat down –"

"How do you know it was her?" Mion interrupted.

"Well, it wasn't there before class, and Saki's the only one who left the room! No-one else could have done it."

Mion looked towards Saki. "Is that true?"

Saki blinked and tensed up her shoulders. "Yeah, it's true," she said faintly.

"I see," said Mion. "Well, Saki – Shion and I have some important business to talk about, so you'd better get back to your lunch. Tell Akito that Shion might be late starting afternoon school; if that happens, I'm sure Akito will be able to handle the class. He never seems to have a problem with establishing discipline." I could swear she winked at me.

"All right," said Saki. "Um... Aunt Mion, what about my punishment?"

Mion smiled and kept a watchful eye on me – but honestly, now that she had taken charge, I wasn't going to say anything.

"There won't be any punishment this time," she said, "but don't do this again."

"I promise," said Saki. "Thank you, Aunt Mion!" She bowed, and ran off.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Mion and I were sitting together in the staffroom, the door shut to keep out the noise of the last few minutes of lunch break. My nerves were shattered, so I just put the sofa back together and collapsed, while Mion made tea for both of us.<p>

"So, what is this 'urgent business'?" I asked.

"You know that, silly," Mion said as she came over with the tea. "I want to know what Tsushima said to you last night."

"Oh!" I gasped. "I... I'd almost forgotten about it." Actually, it had been on my mind constantly; all I'd really forgotten was that Mion was certain to ask about it.

Mion relaxed in the seat opposite me, and seemed to be scrutinising me carefully as I leant forward to pick up my cup. "What's up, Shion?" she said. "You're not behaving at all like yourself today. You were really laying into Saki just now, you know."

"Was I? I... I'm sorry," I said. "I guess it was just one little prank too many, when I was stressed out anyway, because of Kizuna." I had to look down into my tea so that she couldn't read my expression.

"Kizuna?" Mion said in a tone of surprise.

"Yeah, she ran out of the room in tears. Akito tells me she's been bothered by Yanagida making threats to Rika-chan."

"Poor kid," said Mion. "But that's not really why you're so stressed. So come on, tell me, what did Tsushima have to say?"

I sighed. I clearly wasn't going to make it out of here without some form of explanation. "He said there's a Kanahebi agent in town. And Teppei – you remember, Satoko's uncle – died two days ago, and Tsushima thinks the Kanahebi are trying to find out where he hid his money."

Mion whistled. "Bloody hell, Shion – why didn't you come and tell me first thing?"

"I didn't want to worry you," I said. "You can't do anything about it, anyway."

"Oh, can't I just!" she said through gritted teeth.

I sighed. "It's no use, sis. The family won't cooperate."

"What – you already asked them?" she exclaimed. "Shion, you should have told me!"

I stared down at the ripples in the surface of my tea, feeling thoroughly deflated.

"I'm sorry," I said. "But as I was already in Okinomiya... I thought it wouldn't do any harm if I went and spoke to Uncle Yoshirou..."

Mion shook her head. "He's a coward, and he always has been. You know that."

"I know," I said. "But, you know, I thought that maybe with an order from the family..."

"Yes, but you're not the family," said Mion. Then she sat right up, and her eyes opened wide. "Wait a second. Shion, you... you didn't tell him you were me, did you?"

I laughed. "Of course not, sis! What do you take me for?"

"For just the kind of person who _would_ do that."

For a few seconds, we both sat there and gazed at each other, almost as if we were playing a game, seeing who would blink first. Then, just like the twins we are, we both burst out laughing at precisely the same moment.

"Well, you're right," I said. "Don't look at me like that, sis – I had to! Just in case he spoke to Tsushima, and Tsushima started wondering about how come I knew what he'd told me and you didn't..." I stopped. "Yeah, that didn't come out quite right."

"Oh, _Shion_," Mion said with a shake of her head. Still, I could see that she was more amused than angry.

"Anyway," I went on – feeling a bit more confident now – "when I couldn't get any sense out of Uncle Yoshirou, I spoke to Kasai. I expected a bit more of him."

"And did you tell Kasai you were me, or did you go back to being yourself?"

I grinned. "I said I was you, but I think Kasai could see through it, all the same."

"Well, he would," said Mion. "And what happened, what did Kasai have to say?"

"Much the same," I said with a sigh. "He said the Sonozakis don't have the strength to stand up to the Kanahebi, and it would be best not to antagonise them..."

"He has a point," said Mion. Leaving her tea still untouched, she got up and started to pace around. "Still, you know, that's no attitude for a Sonozaki to take! We can't let them think they can come here and walk all over us, Kanahebi or not!"

I beamed up at her. I feel so proud of my sister; she's been through so much, but she has a great inner strength that lets her keep on fighting. To be quite honest, I envy her a little as well; I know that sounds wrong, when she's suffered so much and still hurts on the inside; but her strength is just amazing.

"Just what I expected of you, sis!" I said.

"We've got to take action," she said. "Shion, what have you done so far?"

"I got Uncle Yoshirou to promise he'd keep us informed about Kikuhara's movements, and especially if he came anywhere near Hinamizawa," I said. "And I asked Kasai to investigate him more discreetly, see if he can find out what he's up to and what he came here for."

Mion nodded. "Very sensible."

Her mood had relaxed again, and I gulped. I really didn't want to have to admit what I'd done, but Mion and I don't have secrets from each other. "There's one more thing..."

She turned to face me. "Yes?"

I closed my eyes; I couldn't meet her gaze just then. "I spoke to Masashi."

"You did _what_?"

Well, at least she hadn't leapt at me and grabbed me by the throat. I took a deep breath, and spoke a bit more firmly. "I spoke to Masashi."

"Shion... why?"

"Because we Sonozakis need to unite if we're going to have any hope of standing up to the Kanahebi," I said.

I looked up at her hopefully. She just frowned softly and shook her head. "It's no good," she said. "Even united, we'd have no hope of defeating them if it came to battle. Some of the biggest yakuza groups in the country have already tried that, and failed. We may have the indomitable spirit of the Sonozakis, but compared to them, we're just a small and unimportant village. No, our only hope lies in outwitting them, and numbers won't help with that. Besides, Masashi won't come back to us, not after all this time." She sighed, and stared wistfully out of the window. "So, what did that idiot have to say for himself, anyway?"

"Nothing much," I said. "You're right, he wouldn't cooperate. He refused to meet you."

"Of course he did," said Mion. "It's been fifteen years. If there's one thing we Sonozakis are both blessed and cursed with, it's stubbornness – and Hiroshi inherited it in full."

"But... what can we do?"

"About Masashi?" Mion said sharply. "Oh, nothing, most likely. Why should we bother about him, if he chooses to set himself apart? Let him stew in his own juice, in that putrid backwater he's chosen as his place of exile. One day the Kanahebi will come for him, and then he'll come begging for the family to rescue him, you'll see."

"And will we?" I asked.

"What are you talking about, Shion?" she said. "Of course we will. Whatever he may have said in the past, he's still a Sonozaki, and it wouldn't look good for us if we shut him out."

"Just what I expected of you as the family leader!" I said.

Mion gave me a wan smile. "I'm nothing special," she said.

"Of course you are! You're our fearless, strong leader – we all look up to you!"

She sat down next to me and rested a hand on my shoulder. "You know, we're not that different from each other," she said. "You're a lot stronger than you think you are, Shion."

"Thanks, sis..."

I didn't know what to say. I just leant into her and relaxed against the warmth of her body, and we sat together for a while, watching as the sun outside sank into a patch of cloud.


	24. Part II Ch 7 Watanagashi

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**7  
>Watanagashi<strong>

The next morning was one of glorious sunshine. For a brief moment, I really felt as if my troubles had melted away, as if I could just lie back and enjoy the feeling of warmth seeping through my body for ever. Satoshi groaned and rolled over, and stretched out a hand and gently ran it over the curve of my breast, with a smooth motion as though stroking a cat. I caught my breath as I was hit by a rush of such intense pleasure, the rest of the world might have ceased to exist.

"Shion?" he said drowsily.

"I'm here, my love," I whispered. I reached out and pulled him closer, and he rolled over me so that his body lay across mine. I leant back and pressed him down onto me, letting the heat of his body flow into me, bringing his heartbeat into resonance with mine so that it filled me with strength. Satoshi sighed gently, still half-asleep. His eyelids flickered until they came fully open, and then he stretched himself out and pressed his head into the space under my chin, squeezing his lips against my flesh and then gently running the tip of his tongue against my neck. Time stopped for a moment; the sharpness of his touch was almost painful, but it was such sweet pain. I gasped and held Satoshi tightly, turning my hands so that my nails dug into his back. He let out a high-pitched squeal and lifted his head for a moment – oh, he was wide awake now. He held still for a while as the pain flowed into him and consumed him, and then he dived down onto me so fast that I had no time to get my breath back. He kissed me firmly, and I closed my eyes so that the bitter taste of longing and lingering was the only thing I felt, until he curved his hands around my shoulders and moulded them with his intense strength, then ran them once more over my breasts.

At last we broke apart, and I breathed again, deep breaths as I tried to hold on to that feeling of togetherness, the air that was heavy with Satoshi's presence. I looked up into his eyes as he smiled sweetly down at me, and I felt that I could have gone on gazing into those eyes for ever; they were a blazing red that reminded me of coming home on a snowy day and curling up in the warmth of the fire. A safe and happy place that I never wanted to leave.

"Does that feel good, my love?" Satoshi whispered.

"You know it does, my darling," I said. "But – _ah!_ – we don't have time for this, not now – stop it, Satoshi!" I squirmed and flinched as his hands ran over me.

"You don't want me to stop!" he laughed. He lifted himself again, and then came down and squeezed his lips tightly onto my breast. Whatever I wanted to say vanished in that moment; the feeling of his soft skin pressing down onto me like a blanket, and his intricate fingers flexing and stroking me from many directions at once, surrounded me until I could feel nothing else. I had no defences left. I moaned and closed my eyes and lay still.

But we both knew we had to stop, had to get up and make ourselves ready. At last, after one final kiss that we drew out much longer than we should, I let Satoshi climb off me, and almost sprang out of bed, I was so energised. Breakfast was small and simple; we were all saving ourselves up for the eating contests later in the day.

Well, all except Mion...

"Are you sure you'll be all right, sis?" I asked her.

"I'll be fine," she said with a smile. "Remember, I want you and Kotone to go and have fun, so you mustn't spend the day worrying about me."

I sighed. She wasn't fine, but I understood what she meant. "I promise I won't worry," I said. "Oh, I got a call from Tomitake-san. I asked him to drop in and say hello to you."

"Thanks. It'll be good to see him again."

"Well, we have to go and get ready," I said. "Goodbye, sis."

"Bye, Shion." We both stood up at the same time and held each other tightly. She was trembling a little. I knew at once she was holding herself back from crying, and I wished she wouldn't, I wished she knew that I would let her cry as much as she wanted – but what could I do?

I went upstairs to get changed for the festival. Satoshi helped me put on my yukata, which was bright red with bands of softer bronze, and decorated with white, pink and lilac flowers; the obi was golden yellow, with green flowers. I felt a little bit shy; perhaps I'm too old to be wearing something so showy, but it's what the children expect, and I knew they would come running up to me as they do every year, to get me to join in their games. They like having such a cool teacher, and if I can give them that pleasure, well then, why shouldn't I?

The four of us set off for the shrine together; Satoshi and I kept a steady pace, walking arm in arm, while the kids went on ahead of us. Kotone was dressed in a metallic blue yukata, decorated with lilac flowers and white butterflies, and a pink obi, while Satoshi and Akito wore simpler white and navy blue outfits. Satoshi was in a cheerful mood. He seemed to want to stop every five minutes to tell me how beautiful I looked, but I just smiled and nudged him along. The fireworks had already started, and I didn't want to miss any more than I had to.

The commotion and bustle could be heard from a long way away, and so could the bangs and whooshes as rockets went sailing into the air and burst into points of red and green light that spread out like flowers blooming and fading, only for others to spring up in their place. The air was filled with the mingling smells of many hot foods being cooked: a smell that reminded me at once of earlier festivals, with Mion and Keiichi and the others, and the happy times we had shared. I smiled. They were good memories, even though there was now always a tinge of sadness associated with them. Keiichi was gone and Mion would not take part; but it was still good to be reminded of the fun we had had together. And now I had Satoshi and my own children, and they were having fun with their own friends just as we had used to – yes, it was going to be a good day.

Furude Suguru, Rika's husband, was waiting just beyond the gate, smartly dressed in his white priestly robes. "Shion-sensei, Satoshi-kun, welcome!" he said with a low bow.

We bowed in return. "Who else is here already?" I asked.

"Satoko-chan and Azusa-chan got here about half an hour ago."

"Damn, they'd better not have started the contests without us..."

I dragged Satoshi along into the crowd, and we were soon lost among the hundreds of festival-goers, dressed in so many bright colours that they almost outshone the fireworks. Tempting threads of smell rose all around us, but there would be time to give in to them later; for now, all that mattered was finding our friends. Everyone from the village was there, and we constantly had to stop to respond to greetings – from parents of the children I taught, from associates of the family, and often from people whom I had no idea who they were at all. But we did at last find Satoko and Azusa – they were at one of those hammer-and-bell games, and Satoko was cheering Azusa on, because she and Satoshi are both banned from those games after breaking them once too often.

Azusa was concentrating so intently that I didn't like to disturb her, so Satoshi and I just stood back and watched. Azusa was elegantly dressed in a blue yukata with a yellow obi, while Satoko wore a black yukata with white flowers, and a red obi. Neither of them had noticed us; Azusa was intent on the game, of course, while Satoko seemed to have eyes only for her sister-in-law's muscles. Azusa heaved the hammer and grunted, and then drove it down. The ringer shot up and gently rattled the bell; Azusa gave a broad grin, and Satoko cheered.

Then I stepped forward. "Here, let me show you how it's done," I said.

At once, I heard shouts in the crowd – "Sonozaki-sensei's going to ring the bell!" – and by the time I was in position less than a minute later, something like half my class were gathered round to watch. Well, I wasn't going to let them down now. I held the hammer high, jumped and drove it down with all my strength. The bell boomed out like a gong this time, and the children burst into applause. I turned and bowed as though I were a stage performer. After all, it was what they expected of me.

"That's my Onee-sama," said Satoko. "But we'll see who's _really_ the strongest in the great Watanagashi Eating Contest. I'm much afraid, my dear sister, you don't stand a chance."

"We'll see about that!" I said at once, facing her with a defiant stare.

We all laughed, and set off for the taiyaki stall together. Satoko led the way, with a spring in her stride; there was no suggestion at all that she was worrying about Kikuhara and the Kanahebi. Did that mean her trap was laid already, and everything was under control? I couldn't ask her about it, not with Satoshi so close by, but if only she would wait, I could at least have asked her with my eyes...

I shook my head. There was no point in speculating about it. Satoko must just want us to enjoy the festival, and she would probably make an opportunity to talk to me in private later in the day. Until she did, I would just have to wait it out and try to have fun.

Still, once I found myself starting to think about the Kanahebi, my heart just wasn't in the contest any more, and as we went from stall to stall, more than once I earned a reproachful glance from Satoko. I grimaced in return; I _was_ trying, but it was hardly fair of her to upbraid me when she knew just why I was faltering.

The hours wore on, and the afternoon grew hotter and I felt even more drained. The contest was turning into a showdown between Satoko and Azusa, which both of them seemed determined to win; Satoshi and I had won only a single round each. Satoko had agreed to a time-out, and we sat down together and Azusa got us all soda, which I drank in a long, grateful gulp.

Then I saw Irie-sensei hurrying up towards us.

"Good day, Shion-chan, Satoko-chan, Satoshi-kun, Azusa-san," he said, bowing to each of us. "I hope you're enjoying the festival."

"Very much," Satoko said with a broad grin. "Aren't we, Onee-sama?"

"Oh, yes," I said, taking a deep sigh as I let the coldness of my drink seep through me. "And you, Irie-sensei?"

"I just dropped in, really," he said. "As you know, Rika-chan's resting in the clinic today, so I thought I would stay and keep her company..."

I tutted. I felt thoughtless now, having forgotten all about Rika. "I hope she's doing all right?"

"She's fine. She's just worn out... it's not surprising, so close to the end of her pregnancy."

Akito's words the day before came back to me. "She hasn't seemed gloomy at all?"

"Gloomy?" Irie sounded surprised. "No, I wouldn't say so, just fed up and occasionally a little grouchy. It's not uncommon. She'd just like all this to be over."

"I think we all would..."

"I can't wait for the baby to be born," said Satoko. "Do you think it'll share my birthday?"

"We'll see," said Irie. "By the way, have any of you seen Tomitake-san today?"

I blinked. "No, not at all." I looked round at the others. "Have any of you?"

They all shook their heads.

"Huh, that's strange," said Irie. "We were meant to be meeting, but he hasn't shown up."

"I know he was planning to call at the Manor to see Mion," I said. "Perhaps she just kept him longer than he expected?"

"It's possible," said Irie. "I'll give Mion-chan a call. Wait a second."

We all waited in anxious silence as he held his phone to his ear. After a short while, he shook his head and looked back at us with a sigh. "No response."

"That's very odd," I said. "But I'm sure he'll be okay. Mion wouldn't let him come to harm."

"Yes, now that I know he's with Mion-chan I feel reassured," said Irie. "Well, I'd best be getting on my way. It's good to have seen you."

"Why not stay and join in our contest?" Satoko beamed at him.

Irie smiled weakly and waved his hand. "Much as I'd love to stay with you, Satoko-chan," he said, "I fear I'll have to pass. I don't want to leave Rika-chan alone all day... and besides, it would never do for someone in my position to go giving himself food poisoning."

"We can always rely on you to lighten the mood, Irie-sensei," Azusa laughed.

He bowed. "Glad to know I'm doing my job, then. Goodbye, and have fun!"

* * *

><p>And we did, on the whole. Now that we had had time to cool off, the cheerful mood of the festival infected us again at once. I threw myself into the next round of the contest with abandon, and nearly gave myself a choking fit.<p>

"Are you all right, Nee-nee?" Azusa asked anxiously. (Satoko showed no concern. We'd had these contests often enough for her to know when it was serious and when it wasn't.)

"Here, have a glass of water," said a familiar voice.

I gulped and looked up. "M... Mother!"

She laughed. "Glad to see you're having a good time, but don't overdo it."

"I'm fine, I promise," I said. "How are you? And where's Father?"

"Oh, we ran into Zenichi-kun and they went off to have a chat together," said Mother. "I think there was some business matter they wanted to discuss."

I blinked. Uncle Zenichi is Father's older brother, his only sibling. We don't see much of him – well, I already told you about the Sonozakis and the Misoras, didn't I?

"I hope it's nothing too serious," I said.

"I'm sure it won't be," said Mother. "Well, I'll see you around!"

Satoko put her empty plate down with a flourish. "And that round goes to Fujiura Satoko," she said. "I can already taste victory!"

"We'll see about that!" said Azusa.

But the contest came to an end in the very next round. Azusa seemed to be trying a bit too hard, and halfway through the round she abruptly stopped and grabbed the edge of a nearby table to hold herself steady, letting her plate fall to the ground. For a moment I was sure she was about to be sick, but fortunately it passed. Satoshi took her arm and led her to a seat, and once she had recovered her breath, she put on a brave smile as though nothing had happened. There was no question of continuing the contest after that, so Satoko declared her victory, while Satoshi and I were joint losers.

"I'll have to come up with an extra-special punishment for you," Satoko said thoughtfully. "What a disappointment – it seemed as if you were barely trying!"

"I'm sorry, Satoko..."

"Well, after all, perhaps I really am just too good for you!" she laughed. "But do try a little harder next time, Onee-sama. I expected more of you than this."

"Perhaps we're getting too old for this," said Satoshi.

"Speak for yourself, Onii-chan!" Satoko retorted.

"Satoshi has a point," I said. "We can't hold on to the old days for ever."

"We can't just let them go either," Satoko said sharply. "Don't you remember everything we went through to reach our happy ending – you of all people!"

"I remember," I said wearily. We've agreed not to talk about it, because there are some things it just isn't worth dwelling on, but I can never forget the look of defiant resilience in Satoko's eyes as I stabbed her again and again, that horrible day when my world fell apart and I lost all sense of direction.

She must have known what I was thinking about, for she slipped closer and put her arm in mine.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she said. "You mustn't think about that again, Onee-sama. Just remember the battles we fought, and how we all bonded together to defeat the Yamainu –"

"I wish I could have been there," Azusa said.

I shook my head. "You wouldn't say that, if you knew what it was like."

"Well, why don't you just tell me?"

I looked despairingly at Satoshi. _How did the conversation get round to this?_

He just smiled back, as if to say, _It's in your hands._

I sighed. "I was young and headstrong," I said. "I think we all were; but the others had been struggling for so long, they had a lot to pay the enemy back for, and the thought of their happy days together to keep them fighting. I just got thrust into the middle of things when we ran into Irie-sensei fleeing from the enemy, and I had no idea what was going on or why..."

"You were a real hero," Satoko said, squeezing my arm. Bless her. Azusa knew the story, she'd been told each of our versions hundreds of times, but every time she heard it she still put on an expression of awe as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Satoko turned to face her. "You know, Shion and Kasai-san held back the Yamainu _by themselves_ and nearly died to save all of us."

Azusa reached out and tightly clasped my hand in hers. "Thank you."

It's little things like that that make me think she and Satoko are more than just sisters...

"Oh, there was nothing particularly heroic about it," I said. "I had some kind of childish recklessness, as if I honestly thought I couldn't be killed..." I shook my head. "Really, I was selfish. Putting my life at risk just to show off... when deep down, even then, I knew what it would have meant to Mion and to everyone if they'd lost me..."

"_Onee-sama!_" Satoko cried. She glowered, and then stepped back and gave me a playful punch in the side. "You mustn't think like that. You were not at all selfish. It was beautiful, the way you risked your life for us, when you didn't even know us that well, except for Mion..."

"Thanks, Satoko," I said, gently stroking her arm. "But hey, let's not talk any more about death and such matters. This is a festival, and tonight, we really are immortal, so let's just enjoy the night!"

"That's the spirit, Onee-sama!" Satoko said. She took my arm again and led me away.

* * *

><p>It was a good festival, in the end. I've never quite understood the point of letting off fireworks during the day, as if everyone just couldn't wait to get started, but there were still more than enough left for a most spectacular display during the evening. We stood together and watched the sky in awed silence for a long time as it burst into life, blooming with so much colour that the blackness beyond was barely visible. I held Satoshi's hand tightly; I didn't even need to look at him, I could feel in his touch how happy he was that we were here, that we were together. Satoko has a point after all: this wouldn't mean so much to us if we didn't know just how much we'd gone through to get here, and how nearly our happiness might have been ruined. Even if that does mean that it has to be mixed with shades of regret for what I did, and sorrow for Mion because she lost the person her whole world was built around, and feeling guilty that I got my happy ending and so I can't share in her feelings as I should.<p>

Then, at last, it was time for the culmination of the festival, Kizuna's ceremonial dance and the cotton-drifting. Fortunately, her nervousness seemed to have worn off, and the dance went without a hitch. Satoshi and I went up together to take our balls of cotton, and then walked hand in hand down to the river to float them away. This was the time when we had to reflect on our sins, and let them be absorbed by the cotton and drift away from us.

My eyes wandered over the crowd and sought out Saki, who was buzzing around Miaka like a bee, no doubt enthusiastically explaining the ceremony to her. I really shouldn't have hurt her like that. I would make sure to take her aside and apologise to her during the day at school tomorrow. Certainly, this was no time to spoil the mood of the evening by bringing up such matters, not when the kids were clearly enjoying life so much.

I placed my ball of cotton in the river and let it go. Satoshi wanted to stay and watch his for a while, but I continued to scan the crowd, looking out for familiar faces. There was Karen, or at least I felt sure it was her, with that long black hair of hers. She was with her older brother and sister, Toshio and Chiharu; so they had come after all. We must just have kept missing each other during the festival, which wasn't really that surprising, among so many people. I wondered whether I should go over and say hello to them, but I had already hesitated too long, and they were lost to sight among the crowd. Well, it was probably for the best. I'm sure they would have been happy to see me, but I was equally sure that they were having a good enough time already without me. I was always wary of Karen and her endless curiosity about us, and certainly now of all times it would not be a good idea to let her get too involved. She would just be putting herself in danger – and the rest of her family as well. I shook my head. It was best I just stayed out of their way for now – but I made a mental note to invite all three of them round for a meal as soon as all this was over, to make it up to them for missing them tonight.

By now, nearly everyone had set their balls of cotton adrift, and most of them were out of sight. The crowd were beginning to disperse, many of them going back to their homes, others staying around to chat or wandering off to spend time by themselves in quiet places among the trees, just as Satoshi and I had done when we were much younger. But we were too old for that sort of thing now; so we just stood together in silence.

"I wonder how Kotone and the others are getting on," I said at last.

"Should we go and find out?" said Satoshi.

I smiled. "Nah, it's best to just leave them to themselves. I'm sure they're having fun, and they wouldn't want their silly old schoolteacher getting in the way."

"All right," said Satoshi. He let go of my hand and walked around, nowhere in particular. Then he knelt down by the river and dipped his hand into the water, letting it ripple over his fingers.

"It's so peaceful," he said.

_I'm so glad you're happy, Satoshi... you deserve that so much. Considering everything that's happened to you, everything you've been through, and you've taken it all so gracefully, for Satoko's sake and mine, without a word of complaint... I don't deserve someone as good as you, Satoshi, but since you've got me, I will do anything to keep you happy, so we can have many more days like this..._

As I was thinking these thoughts, I dimly became aware that someone was calling out my name. I looked around, trying to locate them; I had fallen into a sort of dreamlike state and wasn't even sure what direction the voice was coming from.

Then – "Shion-chan!" It was Irie, clearly out of breath, coming huffing towards us.

"Good evening, Irie-sensei," I said.

He stopped when he came close enough, and nodded. "Good evening."

"You look very flustered. What's wrong?"

He grimaced. "Tomitake's disappeared."

"_What?_"

"I've just been round to the Manor to speak with Mion. She says he never showed up."

"Never showed up?" I said. "But, Irie-sensei, maybe he's just ill or something, and decided not to come to Hinamizawa today at all?"

Irie shook his head. "I called his hotel. He had breakfast at nine this morning and left in plenty of time for the Hinamizawa bus. I asked whether he looked ill, and they said there was nothing unusual about his appearance at all."

"Well, then –" I stopped. I couldn't think of what else might have happened to him.

"I was hoping I'd get here and find that you'd tell me he'd showed up after all," Irie said bitterly. "So, neither of you have seen him all day?"

I shook my head.

"No, me neither," said Satoshi.

"Then I'm going to phone the police," said Irie.

"The police!" said Satoshi. "Director, do you really think that's necessary?"

"I don't know," Irie said with a worried frown. "It may turn out to be something trivial, of course, but I don't like this. It's not at all like Tomitake to say he'd be here and then not turn up, without letting anyone know where he is, and not answer his phone all day."

"I'm sure it's nothing serious," I said. "Kumagai will find him in no time."

"Let's hope so," said Irie. "Well, if you two don't mind, I'll just go and place that phone call..."

We watched in silence as Irie wandered off and disappeared round the corner of a building.

"I do hope Tomitake's all right," Satoshi said at last.

"He will be," I said again, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Come on, let's go and find Kotone and the others."

"You've changed your mind about leaving them in peace?"

"Well... I just feel I could do with a bit more company at the moment."

Satoshi smiled and squeezed me back. "Is my company not enough for you?"

"I love you, Satoshi," I said, evading the question.

You see... I just couldn't help feeling disquieted. If something really had happened to Tomitake... could that be connected with the Kanahebi? Was it my fault for not finding a way to deal with Kikuhara more effectively?

I sighed and shook my head. Right now, I had no way of knowing. I just knew that I would feel a little more reassured if I kept Kotone in sight for the rest of the evening.


	25. Part II Ch 8 Disappearance

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**8  
>Disappearance<strong>

"We're home!" I called out as I shook off my outdoor shoes.

A footstep on the stairs, and then Mother stood before me, looking drawn and nervous.

"So it's you, Shion," she said. "Is Kotone not with you?"

"She's with Akito and the rest of the gang." I sighed. "They were having fun together; I didn't like to drag them away..."

"But, Shion..."

"It's fine," I said heavily. "They'll be home in an hour or so. Nothing's going to happen."

"How can you be so calm? After what just happened to Tomitake-san..."

I looked up sharply. "You know about that?"

She was shaking, and gripping the banister to steady herself, so hard that her knuckles were white. "Well _of course_, Shion. How could we not know?"

"I don't know," I said. "All I've heard is that he's disappeared. What's going on?"

"_Disappeared_," she said with a fierce glare. "Shion, adult men don't just vanish like lost keys! He must have been kidnapped, or else murdered..."

"_Mother!_" I said firmly. "What nonsense is this? It's far too soon to be talking about kidnapping. He probably just ran into a friend in Okinomiya..."

"But Shion, he came _here_," she said.

I froze. "_What?_"

She nodded, and spoke rapidly. "He came here this morning, and asked for Mion. Well, she'd gone out; she went to the clinic to see Irie-sensei. Tomitake-san said he'd wait, and Gorou showed him to the conservatory." She shuddered and closed her eyes. "Shion, that was the last anyone saw of him. When Mion came back, he'd gone."

I rushed forward to take her hand in mine and give it a comforting squeeze.

Satoshi frowned. "But how long was Mion at the clinic for? Perhaps Tomitake just got tired of waiting."

Mother shook her head. "I don't know, Satoshi. I only heard about all this afterwards. You'd have to talk to Mion and Gorou. I don't know what's going on any more..."

I gulped. "It will be okay, Mother," I said. "I'm sure there will be some simple explanation for all this. You can't seriously believe that someone kidnapped a guest from our own Manor without being seen! If they wanted to get Tomitake, why not do it from the hotel or on the road, where it would be so much easier?"

"I can think of ways they could have persuaded him outside and then forced him into a car," said Satoshi.

I snorted with laughter. "Satoko's been making you watch too many thrillers. Besides, the guard at the gate would have noticed a strange car coming onto the grounds."

"Let's speak to him, then," said Satoshi.

"He'll be off duty now. The night guards are on shift."

"All right, then, we'll speak to him tomorrow," said Satoshi. "Don't worry about it, Akane-san. I'm sure Shion's right and there's a perfectly reasonable explanation."

"I... I hope so," Mother said with a sigh. "But Shion, please do call Akito and tell him to bring Kotone home. I feel sick in my stomach. I know it's silly of me, but..."

"It's all right, I understand," I said. "Besides, they've been out long enough already." I sighed. "I just hope they've enjoyed the festival a bit more than we have."

* * *

><p>Let's not talk any more about that night. It was hard enough just to get through it once, without having to relive it in memory. When I woke, I could <em>feel<em> rather than see that the morning was already bright. I couldn't open my eyes; it felt as if a nettle was lying above them and stabbing down at me every time I tried.

"Wake _up_, Shion." That was Mion's voice. I stretched out a hand towards her, or at least tried to. I couldn't really sense where it was moving. "How much did you have to drink last night?"

"No..." I wanted to explain, to tell her that I hadn't been drinking at all, but somehow I just couldn't make the words come out. I shook my head frantically, half hoping that it would hit something hard and the pain would help me wake up.

"_Shion._" I felt Mion's touch holding me in place, calming me. Yes, that felt better. She drew a deep sigh. "You're going to be late for school. Or do you need me to stand in for you today?"

"Please...," I managed to croak out.

She leant in close, so close that I could feel the warmth of her breath. "What was that, Shion? I didn't quite hear it..."

I reached up and grasped her hand, and pressed it tightly. I didn't need to say anything; I knew she would know just what I was saying to her. There was nothing more to worry about; I could rest now. I fell back and let sleep wash over me, relishing the wonderful rush of air flowing past me as the world twisted itself around me so that I could carry on falling for ever...

* * *

><p>Satoshi came in a while later, and stayed by me, holding my hand, until I felt strong enough to get out of bed.<p>

"Thanks," I said at last. "I really don't know what's wrong with me. I just feel so exhausted by all this..."

"No, it's quite understandable," Satoshi said. He paused. "Shion... Kumagai's downstairs. He's come round to ask questions about Tomitake."

"But I don't know anything! I never saw him."

"But it was you who originally suggested to Tomitake that he come here to see Mion," Satoshi gently reminded me. "Kumagai will want to know all about that. I'm sure it won't be too onerous. You can show him the text messages to corroborate your story... not that I'm suggesting Kumagai won't believe you, of course." He coughed nervously.

I nodded. "It's all right. I'll come downstairs and talk to him."

"You're sure you're feeling up to it?"

"I'll be fine. Just tell him to let me have a few minutes to get ready."

Satoshi left the room, and I hastily got dressed and threw cold water over my face. I still felt groggy, but at least I was awake enough to cut a presentable figure, and to think rationally and speak clearly and not make a fool of myself in front of the police. I hoped.

Kumagai Tatsuya was in the conservatory with a junior officer, examining the furniture minutely. He's been the local chief of police ever since Ooishi-san retired. He was Ooishi's junior when they helped us in the Takano case all those years ago; that left him with a healthy respect for the Sonozaki family, and we've always gotten on well. He's getting on in years now, and his hair has turned white, but he still carries himself with an air of dignity and formidable strength. The junior officer was one I didn't recognise. He was a young man, barely out of university, and gave me the impression that he was not used to the honour of being selected to accompany Kumagai on a case. He held himself stiffly, stood up straight and moved with vigour, always wanting his efficiency to be noticed. For the most part, Kumagai paid him no attention.

They both looked round as I entered; Kumagai laid a magnifying glass and tweezers carefully down on the mantlepiece and turned to greet me, while the junior officer got out a notebook. I smiled nervously, returned the bow, and sat down.

"Sonozaki-sensei," said Kumagai. "Forgive us for intruding..."

"It's perfectly all right," I said. "Believe me, we're all anxious to find out what's become of Tomitake-san..."

Kumagai nodded. "It's a very strange business. I understand it was you who invited him round to the Manor?"

"Yes."

"And how did that come about?"

I could not help noticing that the junior officer was meticulously taking down everything I said. Well, I suppose they had to. I frowned and did my best not to look.

"What was I saying?.. Oh, yes, he sent me a text to ask if I would be at the Watanagashi festival, so that we could meet up. I replied to say yes, and since I knew Mion wasn't coming, I suggested he drop by the house first to say hello to her."

Kumagai looked across at me, studying me intently. "You say that Tomitake planned to come here _before_ going to the Watanagashi?"

"Of course. The Watanagashi is all day long, so it would make no sense to do it the other way round."

"And, in point of fact, he never made it to the festival at all?"

I gulped. "That's right. At least, I didn't see him there, and neither did Irie-sensei... and Tomitake is good friends with Irie and they had specially planned to meet, so..."

Kumagai nodded. "So, it seems certain that Tomitake disappeared at some time between his arrival at the Manor at 10:15 and Mion's return from the clinic at 11:30. I haven't found anyone who claims to have seen him at any time later than 10:15, when your butler, Kusanagi Gorou, showed him into this room."

I shivered. "So... what do you think happened?" I said. "Did Tomitake just leave?"

"Maybe," Kumagai said carefully. "But it's strange that if he just got tired of waiting, he should walk off and not text you to ask where Mion was, or at least leave a note..."

The junior officer coughed and tapped his pen. I looked up at him.

"Who else was in the house at the time?" he asked.

I considered. "You should really ask Gorou that question," I said. "Most of us were at the festival: me and Satoshi and the kids and Mother and Father. As you know, Grandmother's an invalid and stayed home. Mion was looking after her, except when she went out to visit the clinic." I frowned, and made a mental note to ask Mion _why_ she had gone to the clinic, at the next chance I got. She hadn't been ill recently, that I was aware of. "I don't know about the other servants. They all get a half-day on Watanagashi, and Gorou coordinates it to make sure they're not all out at the same time."

He rapidly wrote all this down, and then looked sternly at me. "And the other family members?"

I blinked. "What do you mean? That's everyone."

"I believe you have a cousin – Sonozaki Masashi?"

"Four cousins. Masashi lives in Takatsudo, the others in Shishibone. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Why was Masashi here on the day of the festival?"

I froze. I just sat there, trying to work out what he'd said. I'd obviously heard him wrong.

I couldn't work it out, so at last I had to ask. "What did you say?"

He turned over a page and tapped his pen against his notebook. "According to your daytime gatekeeper, Hinaguro Yoshiya, a red Honda Accord entered the grounds at 10:30, and stayed only five minutes. We got the car's registration from CCTV footage, and our records show that it belongs to one Sonozaki Masashi, residing, as you said, in Takatsudo."

"That's _impossible_," I said at once.

"Explain," he said coldly.

I sighed deeply. Where to begin? But his eyes were fixed on me, so I had to try to explain. "We have a long-standing quarrel with that side of the family. Mother told Uncle Hiroshi not to set foot in the Manor again, and we haven't seen either him or Masashi for years. Except..."

"Except?" Now it was Kumagai. I felt trapped between them, as if two walls were closing in on me.

Well, they were going to find out anyway, one way or another. It would look better if I just told the truth. It wasn't as though I'd done anything wrong!

"Except that I went round to Masashi's house on Friday evening," I said. "Karen and I – she's also a cousin – went to invite Masashi and his wife and children to the Watanagashi festival. I guess we hoped that it might help to rebuild relationships with their family. But Masashi refused. He threw us out of his house. I _can't_ believe that he should have come here, after all that."

"Perhaps he had a change of heart, and came to apologise for throwing you out?"

I shook my head. "That doesn't sound like Masashi. He's as stubborn as all the Sonozakis are. And anyway, he knew Karen and I would both be at the festival. If that was his intention, he would have gone there instead of here."

"Not necessarily," said Kumagai. "He may have wanted to test the waters by asking Mion to tell you he was willing to apologise – not wanting to make a scene at the festival, in case you were still angry with him."

"But this is all speculation," I said. "Why don't you ask Masashi what his intentions were?"

"Oh, we will," said Kumagai. "But we're here now, so we thought we may as well get your side of the story first." He looked up at the junior officer. "Do you have any further questions?"

"Just one," he said, tapping his pen again. "Why did Mion-san not attend the festival?"

I let out a deep sigh. Did I _really_ have to explain all this? But both policemen's eyes were fixed on me, and I knew that I wasn't going to escape.

"She hasn't attended the festival for years," I said. "It's because she associates this time of year with the death of a close friend, Maebara Keiichi."

Kumagai nodded. "Of course, I remember Maebara-san," he said. "Not that I knew him very well. I think he'd only moved in to the village recently?"

"That's right. He and his family moved here in the summer of 1983."

"A year I'll never forget," said Kumagai. "Such a tragedy, that he should die so young. He showed great promise. Indeed, I don't know whether or not I told you this, but Ooishi-san said of him that he would make a fine policeman, if he ever chose that career."

"Really? No, I'd never heard that before." I shook my head. "We all miss him. And Rena too – she died together with him in the explosion, you know."

"I know," said Kumagai. "An attack by the Kanahebi, as I recall. I'm sorry. They were both fine people."

I bowed. "Thank you, Kumagai-san. Um... are there any more questions?"

"No, that will be all." He bowed in return. "Thank you for your time, Sonozaki-sensei."

"All right," I said, taking a deep breath in relief at being able to get away at last. "Do let us know if you find anything."

I left the room, trying to walk with dignity and not make it too obvious that I was in a hurry to leave. It didn't take me long to find Satoshi; he was sitting by the window at the end of the corridor, waiting for me. He stood up, and I took his arm and led him into Father's study.

"How was it?" he said. "You look distressed."

I shook my head. "I'm fine. Just trying to work out what on earth this all means."

"What exactly?" He reached across and clasped his hand round my wrist.

I took a deep breath and explained about Masashi's car being here – of course I didn't tell him about my visit to Masashi or any of that. Satoshi listened with a worried frown.

"Very strange," he said at last.

I nodded. "Satoshi," I said, "can you call Satoko and ask her to come round?"

"Of course!" he said at once. "Why Satoko in particular?"

"Well..." I grimaced. "I'm just not at all confident that the police will find Tomitake-san."

"Huh? Whatever makes you say that?"

I ran a finger tenderly along the space between his knuckles. "This isn't a normal disappearance, Satoshi. He vanished from Sonozaki Manor, right under the noses of the family. Who would have the courage to pull off something like that?"

He laughed nervously. "Shion, you're starting to sound like your mother. We don't know that he was kidnapped..."

"Well, what else could have happened?" I retorted. "I know what I said last night, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes. He came here specially to see Mion. Why should he leave before she got home, if he really did leave of his own accord?"

"He remembered an urgent appointment?"

I shook my head. "Not on the day of Watanagashi, when he'd promised me and Irie-sensei he'd be there. Anyway, he'd have left a note."

Satoshi shook his head. "I just don't know, then."

I tightened my grip on his hand. "I know it's ugly, and I don't like it either, but we've got to face facts, Satoshi. Someone's kidnapped Tomitake, and whoever it is, they must be a very dangerous enemy." _Well, obviously. It's the Kanahebi – who else would dare?_ But there was no sense in frightening Satoshi with that. He would be paralysed with fear and unable to act, just like Kasai, just like everyone else once they found out whom we were dealing with.

Satoshi nodded. "Okay, I'll call Satoko. Though I'm not sure how you expect her to help..."

I looked at him earnestly. "Well, she is the village trapmaster, isn't she? And she has keener eyes than either of us. She might be able to find some clue we both missed..."

"Normally I'd say that's clutching at straws, but in these circumstances..." He frowned. "I would also feel a bit easier if we got Satoko in on this."

I smiled. "Thanks, Satoshi. I knew you'd agree with me."

* * *

><p>Satoko arrived only ten minutes later, panting after running in the summer heat. We hugged each other, and Satoshi offered her a drink. As he went to pour it, I stepped aside and looked at her with anxious eyes, silently asking her a question: <em>Any news?<em> Equally silently, she shook her head.

"So... I guess you know what's going on," Satoshi said weakly.

Satoko nodded. "Right you are! Mysterious disappearance of Tomitake Jirou while visiting Sonozaki Manor. May I see the scene of the crime?"

"I think the police are still busy looking for clues," I said.

"Bah!" Satoko laughed. "The police? Buffoons. We can't rely on them."

"Kumagai's a very reliable man," I said.

"But not capable enough. That's why you've asked me in, isn't it, Onee-sama?"

I nodded. "What do you think might have happened?"

She narrowed her eyes as if focusing on something in the distance. "Well, let's think about it logically," she said. "I suppose we know for certain that he really did come here?"

"Of course. Gorou let him in and showed him to the conservatory."

"Then Gorou is the _only_ person who saw Tomitake here?" Satoko said sharply.

"Well, yes, I suppose so," I said. "But Satoko, you surely can't suspect him..."

"You're too trusting, Onee-sama. One ought to suspect _everyone_, even one's own twin."

"_Satoko!_"

She guffawed. "It would be funny, though, wouldn't it? If Ane-ue was the one who made him disappear, and chose the Manor so that no-one would suspect she'd done it because she would look like the most obvious person. _And_ gave herself an alibi by going to the clinic at the time the crime was committed, knowing that such an alibi wouldn't hold water anyway because the police could just say the two of you switched places. I suppose it wasn't you who went to the clinic?"

"Of course not!" I cried. "Satoko, you know that – we were at the festival together!"

"Ah, but maybe that was Ane-ue..." (I should explain that that is what she calls Mion.)

"You'd have been able to tell," I said sharply. "And anyway, if one of us was at the clinic and the other was at the festival, then _neither_ of us could have kidnapped Tomitake!"

Satoko sighed. "All right, Onee-sama, it was only a joke. In any case, it sounds like we can't be certain that Tomitake ever was here, if all we have to go on is your butler's word for it. Did the police find any other proof that he had been in the room? Fingerprints, for instance?"

"I don't know. We'll have to wait until they're done examining the room."

Satoko started to pace around. "Always waiting! Well then, let's think about what we _can_ do now. If Tomitake did come here, then someone must have managed to get in _and_ lure him away. We need to find someone who could do both."

"And who might that be?"

"Well, we should start by finding out whether the guard at the gate saw anyone come in. I don't think a person would have much difficulty getting onto the grounds unobserved – no offence meant, Onee-sama – but he couldn't bring a car in without the guards seeing."

"And where does that get us?" said Satoshi.

She sighed. "You're so dense, Onii-chan! If the kidnapper didn't bring a car onto the estate, then he can't have taken Tomitake away in one. So how else did he take him away?"

"Well, I don't know," I said. "How did he?"

"Obvious answer, he didn't. So Tomitake must still be on the estate somewhere!"

"_What?_" Satoshi cried. "How is that possible?"

Satoko tugged on my sleeve. "What do you think, Onee-sama? Aren't there places around here where someone could disappear and not be found for a very long time?"

I bit into my lip. Satoko hadn't been told about Masashi's car yet. Of course, it was absurd to suspect Masashi of the crime – why should he want to kidnap Tomitake, when the two had never met? But perhaps the kidnapper had stolen Masashi's car in order to get onto the estate. It seemed unlikely; the police would be visiting Hiroshi and Masashi as soon as they were done here, and if the car had been stolen, it would provide an easy trail for them to get onto. But, like Satoko, I didn't like the thought of having nothing to do but wait until they finished.

"All right," I said at last. "We'll take a look in the Labyrinth."

"I think we'd better," Satoshi said grimly.

* * *

><p>So we all took strong torches and went down together to the bunker that serves as the entrance to the Labyrinth, the system of tunnels under the Sonozaki estate. Of course this was what Satoko had meant with her hint. In less peaceful times, it was there that enemies of the Sonozaki family had disappeared, never to return to the surface. The ancient tunnels were no longer used for that purpose, of course; but it was still a hiding-place for family secrets, and we kept a close watch on who had keys to the various entrances.<p>

Satoko knew about the entrance, of course. She strode eagerly ahead of us, scanning from side to side, looking out for any clues, even out here where it was not clear what sort of clue she expected to find. Satoshi and I followed at a slower pace. When we reached the bunker, she was bending down to examine the padlock.

"Look at this," she said. "It's open. Someone's already been this way."

"What?" I cried. "But who would..."

"Not Mion," said Satoshi. "She would have locked it again."

I nodded. Mion had been given the thorough training in looking after the estate that each head of the Sonozaki family had to go through. She would never have left the door unlocked.

"Let's go in and find out," Satoshi said heavily.

He opened the door and led the way inside. I noticed that he was gripping a baseball bat behind his back, though it was the wooden one he took to team practices, not the metal one he preferred to carry when he thought there might be danger. I smiled. It was so typical of Satoshi, that even when none of us knew what to be prepared for, he always wanted to be the one to protect us. Not that I really needed to be protected, as he well knew. My hand slipped down towards my pocket and felt the comforting shape of a solid object inside. My taser was still there.

Still, the three of us kept tightly together as we descended into the first tunnel of the Labyrinth. Satoshi shone his torch into the darkness ahead, while Satoko kept a lookout behind.

"Look at this," Satoshi said after a while. He shone his torch downwards, revealing a clear trail of footprints in the dirt. "Someone has definitely been here."

I bent down to take a closer look. "More than one person. Look – this one has a horizontal ridge, which this one doesn't."

"I don't suppose we know what Tomitake's shoes look like?" said Satoko.

I shook my head.

"Let me have a look," said Satoko. "Hmm, two men walking together. There's no sign of one of them dragging the other – the prints would look quite different. So, if one of them was Tomitake, either he came here of his own free will, or else there were two men carrying him."

"They wouldn't dare," I said. "You saw it just now – the bunker is fifty metres from the back door, and in sight of the house the whole way. In broad daylight, no less!"

"But it was during the festival," said Satoshi. "Anyone would know the family were out."

"What about the servants?" said Satoko.

"They get a half-day so they can attend the festival. So there would still be some around."

"But they'd be working in the house," Satoko persisted. "Really, it's only Ane-ue who would be a danger. And she was at the clinic. Who knew she was going?"

"Uh... no-one, as far as I know."

We continued slowly down the tunnel as we spoke; Satoko carefully followed the trail of footprints with her torch.

"Well, why did she go to the clinic?"

"I don't know. She hasn't told me anything."

"Hmm. Isn't that a bit unusual?"

"Not really. If it was just something small, she might not mention it..."

"Even allowing for travel time, she was there for nearly an hour," Satoko said quietly.

"I don't know. Irie-sensei didn't say anything about meeting her at the clinic. Maybe she missed him and waited for a while..."

"Hmm." Satoko stood still for a while, staring down the tunnel.

"What is it?" Satoshi said at last.

"Oh, just wondering how it all fits together. Ane-ue, Tomitake, and everything..."

"Aren't you jumping the gun just a little?" said Satoshi. "I mean, we don't even know for certain that it was Tomitake who came down here at all."

"There must be a connection," said Satoko. "Tomitake disappears, and the same day, someone breaks open the door to the Labyrinth. That can't be a coincidence."

_And all this happens at the same time as a Kanahebi agent is in town. There are far too many strange things going on around here for my liking. Surely that can't be a coincidence either?_

"But they didn't break in," Satoshi pointed out. "The padlock was opened by someone who had a key to it. That could only be someone in the house..."

"Well, we can easily check whether the footprints match up with anyone in the house," said Satoko. "I hope you're being careful not to tread all over them, Onii-chan."

"Of course!" he said indignantly. "What do you take me for?"

"A reliable but not over-bright minion, of course."

We had reached a corner, and she swung her torch around to follow the trail. It led straight down the passage that led to the old well.

But Satoko wasn't interested in the well. She ran her torch methodically around the tunnel, until at last she found what she was looking for, and let out a cry of satisfaction.

We shuffled forward and stood by her side.

"What is it?" said Satoshi.

"There's only one set of footprints coming back."


	26. Part II Ch 9 Fracture

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**9  
>Fracture<strong>

We went back to the house in silence. The detectives had gone, but there was still an officer standing guard outside the conservatory. Satoko went over to tell him about our discovery, while Satoshi and I stood together and held hands as we waited. I felt dizzy; so much had changed so rapidly. There was no doubt now that something horrible had happened to Tomitake, and _here_, in our own home. Somehow, an intruder had managed to get in past our security, had managed to lure him away, and... well, I didn't know, but he was almost certainly dead. When the Kanahebi had first started to threaten us, this was the one place I felt safe. I couldn't feel safe here any longer.

"_Shiiion-chan!_"

And talking of feeling safe –

"Hello, Satoshi-kun," Karen said cheerfully; then she ignored him and concentrated on me. "What's going on, Shion? I got the fright of my life just now, when I arrived at the Manor, and a police car came out and honked at me just as I was coming through the gate..."

I sighed. Well, it was best to just get it over with. She'd find out sooner or later anyway.

"Tomitake-san's gone missing. He came here yesterday morning to visit Mion, and he seems to have disappeared while he was waiting for her to come back from the clinic."

"How shocking!" said Karen. "Do you think the Kanahebi got him?"

My mouth fell open. All the effort I'd gone to to make sure Satoshi never found out about the Kanahebi, and Karen just blurts the name out! How in Oyashiro's name did she know, anyway?

While I was still fumbling around for a response, Satoshi asked, "The Kanahebi, Karen?"

"So you didn't know?" She looked at him with an air of wide-eyed childlike innocence.

I sighed, and tugged her arm and tried to steer her away.

"Wait a second, Shion," said Satoshi. "Karen-chan, what is all this?"

"I can't believe Shion didn't tell you," she said. "One of the Kanahebi top brass is staying in a hotel in Okinomiya. I think they intend some mischief towards cousin Masashi."

I breathed a deep sigh of relief. Of course that's what Karen would guess; so now Satoshi had an easy explanation and wouldn't think that they were after _him_. It was going to be all right after all, and it wouldn't matter that Satoshi knew about Kikuhara. Perhaps he could help...

"You knew about this, Shion?" he asked me.

"Uh... yes, the family told me about it," I said quickly. "You know, normal matters of protocol when there's an agent from a rival gang in the area. Since he didn't seem to be up to anything suspicious, I didn't think I needed to worry you about it." Satoshi was frowning, so I hastily added, "It'll be all right. We've asked Kasai to keep an eye on the man."

"Kasai!" Karen said scornfully. "You might as well put up a neon sign telling him the Sonozakis are watching him. Why not ask me, the ninja of the family?"

Honestly, there are times when I wish the floor would just swallow me up.

"Karen," I said patiently, "you're not –"

"I _am_ a real ninja! Graduated with distinction from the Okuzaki –"

"And that's not a real qualification!"

Satoshi stepped between us with a gesture of conciliation. "How did you find out, Karen?"

She grinned. "Well, after I ran into you and Kasai that time, I knew _something_ was up, so I just followed him around until I found out what. He wasn't exactly subtle about it, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if the hotel staff and half the guests know about it by now."

I groaned.

Karen prodded me with a long finger. "Honestly, what did you expect, when you send in someone whose only way of finding things out is to ask questions? Now, if you'd asked me to find this Kikuhara, I'd have just sneaked a look at the hotel register, and got his room number at once."

I sighed. "And I suppose you couldn't resist doing just that."

"Well, I had to find out what he was up to, didn't I?"

"Karen..." I shook my head. "I don't want you putting yourself in danger on my account, you silly girl."

She glared at me indignantly. "I'm not a child any more, you know!"

"Both of you, please," said Satoshi. "I want to know what happened."

"All right," said Karen. "He left the hotel after midnight on Saturday night. I had my car close by, carefully hidden of course, so I followed him – all the way to Takatsudo."

"Takatsudo?" I exclaimed. "But what business could he possibly have there?"

"Didn't you listen to what I just said? He was going to Uncle Hiroshi's house."

"Who was?" Satoko had rejoined us.

Karen started her explanation over again, and then went on, "So of course, I slipped into the house after him. I've known secret ways to get in there for ages."

"I hope you're not still climbing up the old shed round the back," Satoko said quietly. "That drainpipe could give way any minute – I really should remind Hiroshi-san about it, but I don't think he would listen to me. Anyway, you can still use the window by the old beech tree..."

Karen's mouth fell silently open.

I chuckled. It was satisfying to see her upstaged for once.

"And what happened when you got inside?" said Satoshi.

Karen blushed bright red.

"Well... actually, I kind of got waylaid by Masashi's kids," she said. "You know how it is with children; they thought it was really cool to have a ninja sneaking into the house."

In spite of how serious things really were, I had to laugh at that.

"And after that?" said Satoko. "What about Kikuhara?"

"I slipped away when I heard the front door close. He'd only been there for about five minutes. I went back to my car, and followed him at a safe distance, so that he wouldn't think it was odd that someone was on the road to Takatsudo at that hour. He just went back to the hotel."

Satoko nodded. "Thanks for calling us, Karen-chan. We need to get this sorted out. I don't know whether all this has any connection with Tomitake's disappearance, but Masashi could be in danger."

I shot her a glance. She could be such a good actress, it was really hard to read her sometimes. Was she genuinely concerned by these new developments, or was her reaction all part of her plan for making Masashi think we had saved his life?

"Kumagai said that Masashi's car was on the grounds at the time Tomitake disappeared," said Satoshi. "There must be a connection."

"I don't like this at all," said Karen. She could have been speaking for any of us.

The doorbell rang.

"That'll be Kumagai come back," said Satoko. "I'll let him in."

The three of us waited in silence as Satoko ran off. It was one of those moments where there seemed to be nothing to say; we just had to wait until Kumagai arrived, and then go through our story – and _then_ we would have to decide what to do. For now, we were stuck, trapped in a prison of our thoughts; the image of the footprints in the tunnel kept coming back to me, and little snatches of conversation. But I just couldn't seem to process it all; couldn't draw connections.

Then I heard Gorou shuffling towards the door, Satoko calling out to him that she would get it, then the door opening – and then a gasp of surprise.

It was a very different Satoko who returned half a minute later. She was quiet and still, keeping a stiff posture with her head tilted slightly down, taking up so little space that it was as if she was trying to make herself invisible. But then, anyone would be diminished by the presence of Chiharu, Karen's older sister. She was tall and slim, but she had a way of striding that made you feel you were in the way, that the space belonged to her. She had the same black hair as Karen, but shorter; and there was something about the way it waved that caught the light in places and threw it back in others, irresistibly drawing in the eye until you found yourself gazing into her face, her pale skin and green eyes and smooth cheeks. She had a presence all right, and she knew it.

She glanced around and blinked. "So here you all are. Mion-san?"

"She's taking my place at school today."

Chiharu frowned. "You'll have to call her, then. I'm rather surprised she's not home, at a time like this."

"What do you mean?" I said. "What's happened?"

"_Happened?_" cried Chiharu. "You don't _know_? I thought you were having a meeting about it! Why are you here, if not for that?" She looked accusingly towards Karen.

"Actually," I said, "a friend of ours, Tomitake Jirou, has gone missing. We're just waiting for the police... but that's not what you mean, is it?"

Chiharu looked at me with wide eyes.

"Another?" she said. "Oh my, I didn't expect that."

"What do you mean, _another_?" said Satoshi.

"Cousin Masashi's gone missing too."

"_What?_" I cried.

"He never came home last night."

"_Shit_," said Satoko. This was so unlike her that we all looked round – Chiharu with a frown of disapproval. Satoko clenched a fist and gritted her teeth.

"When was he last seen?" said Satoshi.

"When he left the house yesterday morning."

"And came here...," I said faintly. Satoshi and Satoko shot each other an anxious glance.

"He... what did you say?" said Chiharu.

"Kumagai, that's the policeman, said that Masashi's car was here at the same time Tomitake was in the conservatory," I said. "That's the last time Tomitake was seen. But Masashi left after just five minutes... he really hasn't been seen since then either?"

And, all the time, I saw Masashi's face in front of me, remembered those last words we had spoken to each other. _I know he's a jerk, but he's my cousin! Please don't let him be dead... he can't be!_

"Yumi said he didn't come home all day, and she couldn't get a response on his phone. She's tried the Irie clinic and the hospital in Okinomiya, but there's no-one there answering his description."

"What are we going to do?" said Satoko.

"Let's go round the hotel and have it out with Kikuhara," said Karen.

"With... whom?" said Chiharu.

I sighed deeply. "Karen, we can't do that, now more than ever. If Kikuhara really did have something to do with Masashi's disappearance, then we mustn't let him know that we suspect him. They'd just make sure he disappears for good so there are no traces."

I looked sternly towards Satoko. _What is going on? Please tell me this isn't all happening because of your mad plans..._

"But if Kikuhara has kidnapped Masashi, then what does that have to do with Tomitake?" Satoshi said, looking utterly bewildered.

"Or perhaps he and Masashi were working together," said Karen.

"They weren't. Trust me on that," said Satoko.

Karen looked doubtfully at her, while Chiharu just looked confused.

"So what's your suggestion?" said Karen.

"We've got to go to Hiroshi-san's house and look for clues."

"Satoko-chan, you know Hiroshi would never let you into his house," said Chiharu.

"Nevertheless, that's where I'm going," said Satoko. "Karen-chan, you're my backup. Onee-sama, Onii-chan, you two take the frontal approach."

"What is all this?" said Chiharu. "Why are you taking charge?"

"Because we've got no time to lose. Chiharu-chan, if you want to make yourself useful, you can go to the school and let Ane-ue know what's happening."

Chiharu whistled, and gave Satoko a look that clearly said, "I am _not_ used to being spoken to like that."

But Karen seemed to agree with Satoko. She took my hand, and I felt myself being dragged away. Satoshi nodded, to no-one in particular, and followed.

"Very well," said Chiharu. "I'll be waiting here for you."

"Thanks, Onee-chan," said Karen; and the four of us hurried out, and were soon in Karen's car together, heading for Takatsudo.

* * *

><p>Hiroshi's house was less sinister in the daylight, but no less melancholy. Most of the curtains on the upper floor were closed, and there were no signs of life or movement anywhere. You could tell at a glance that the house was too large for the small family who lived there: the unused wings were dark, their walls cracked and the paint faded. The surrounding forest had stealthily crept up to the house and, finding it asleep, stepped in. Ivy sprawled across the furthest windows, and the beech tree Satoko had mentioned stood with its branches scraping against the wall. Only the very front of the house looked well-kept, an all too transparent lip service to respectability.<p>

We stood for a moment in front of the gate, and Satoshi reached across and patted my head. I smiled back, to let him know that I was ready. Satoko nodded to us and slipped away round the side of the house, with Karen following. Their movement was utterly silent. We waited until they had disappeared around the corner, and then stepped up and rang the doorbell.

"Who's there?" Hiroshi's voice sounded even more broken and faded than before.

I nudged Satoshi and whispered, "Perhaps you should..."

"It's Sonozaki Satoshi," he called out. "Um... is Yumi-san at home?"

"Come in," Hiroshi said heavily; and the door opened.

We stepped inside and waited, standing close together and holding hands. It was not long before we heard a heavy tread on the stairs, and Hiroshi stood before us. A darkness around his eyes betrayed his lack of sleep, and he stooped as though his shoulder was aching. We stood in silence for a while; he was unsteady on his feet, and every now and then gripped by a sharp spasm.

"So, the vultures have descended," he said at last.

I bowed. "Uncle Hiroshi, I –"

"Oh, save your breath," he said. "I see that yet again you didn't have the courage to announce yourself. I wonder why."

"I can explain," said Satoshi.

"Don't bother," said Hiroshi. "Both of you, come this way."

I glanced at Satoshi; he just gave me an encouraging smile. We followed Hiroshi down the passage, towards the room in which Masashi and I had argued. But instead of going in, he opened a side door that led to an unlighted flight of stairs, going down.

"Uncle Hiroshi," I said gently, "where are you taking us? Is Yumi-san down there?"

"She's not at home."

"But then –"

He turned to face us. "There's something I want you two to understand."

"Can't you just..." My voice trailed off under his stern glare.

"Why, could it be that you're afraid of me?" he said.

"Afraid?" I laughed. "Uncle, I know that you'd never hurt me..."

"And, no doubt, that's why you think you can use me and my family as pawns," Hiroshi said coldly. "Well, if you're not afraid, then let's get moving."

He headed down the stairs, without even looking to see whether we were following. I hesitated. There was just about enough light coming through a small window high up on the wall to illuminate the top of the staircase a little, but it grew rapidly darker as you looked down until it became a pool of solid black. I glanced at Satoshi again, wondering if he would be nervous. After all, Hiroshi was not _his_ family. And although it was a long time ago now, Satoshi's family had once been considered outcasts by the village and by the Sonozaki family in particular. And even before the quarrel, I had always felt that Hiroshi still held an unshakable disdain for Satoshi. He took his position in the family seriously, and had inherited all the Sonozaki stubbornness.

But Satoshi was calm, and so we set off down the stairs after Hiroshi. "Uncle, we're all part of one family," I said.

"No," Hiroshi snapped. He had come to the bottom, and was fumbling with a key in a door ahead of him. Then came a loud scraping noise as, one after another, he lifted the heavy bolts. "Your mother saw to that. I refused to be her pawn, so she made sure I had no place in the family at all. After everything I'd done, just to be cast out like an old glove, as though I were the one at fault! And now you come crawling because you're being threatened, and you want to take my son and use him as your shield." The door boomed open, and in the faint glow that came from the room beyond, I could see Hiroshi turning to glare at us, his eyes like two ghost-lights in the shadow. "And where is he?" he said. "Where is Masashi? What have you done with him?"

I shook my head. "You've got it all wrong, Uncle. I don't know where he is... but we came here because we hoped we might find some clues that would help us..."

He snorted. "Help _you_. I notice that you don't say help _me_. No, don't bother to apologise. At least you're being honest for once. But if you want to see some clues, you'd better come in."

So we followed Hiroshi through the door, and he turned on the lights. We were in a long and narrow space, like a cavern cut roughly out of the rock; the bare bulbs in the ceiling gave a dim glow that just allowed us to see a short way ahead of us. Several of Masashi's swords hung on the wall, along with his tools; further on, I could see his anvil and workbench.

"Uncle?" I said. "Why have you brought us down here?"

"Come over here," he said, striding towards the anvil. "You know what this is, don't you?"

Slowly, we followed. "I assume this is where Masashi makes his swords?" I said.

"That's correct," he said. "I want you to have a look at this."

"Yes?"

He was taking something down from the wall. I stood next to Satoshi and waited.

Then there was a metallic glint, and Hiroshi snarled, and he was pointing a short sword at my throat. Instinctively, I flinched back. _Stay calm_, I told myself. _He won't really do anything._

"You're lying," Hiroshi said. "Masashi went to the Manor yesterday and never came back. _You know where he is._"

"Uncle, I don't, I promise you!" I said. "It's true that Masashi came to the Manor, but Satoshi and I weren't there. We were at the Watanagashi festival all day!"

"But I'm sure Mion told you what she was doing – or was she acting entirely alone?" he said. "Well, it doesn't matter now anyway. You may be reticent, but I'm sure Mion will talk plenty rather than let her darling twin sister come to any harm."

"What!" I cried. "Uncle, you wouldn't dare –"

His face distorted into a demonic grimace. "Oh, wouldn't I just?" he growled. "Did you really think you could come here as bold as brass and take whatever you please? Give me my son!"

I held Satoshi's hand tightly. "You've got it all wrong," I said. "We haven't seen Masashi at all since I came here." ("You came here?" Satoshi whispered. There was no time to answer.)

"And I suppose you'll say Masashi never went to visit you yesterday," said Hiroshi. "No, I won't be taken in by your pathetic lies any longer. And don't even think about trying to run."

I was not. Hiroshi had taken care that he was between us and the door. My hand slithered down towards the taser in my pocket.

Hiroshi gave a dry chuckle. "I wouldn't, Shion," he said. "We're not alone down here. And unlike you, I don't allow my ninja allies to approach the enemy in plain sight."

"Karen!" I cried. "What have you done with her?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about her," said Hiroshi. "She's safe. She'll be safe for a very long while. Long enough for her to find out what happens to those who break into a Sonozaki house, whether they're family or not."

He stepped towards me, pushing the sword closer to my throat. Satoshi cried out – but Hiroshi was not trying to hurt me, just making sure we knew he had the upper hand. They both stopped, glaring at each other as though both were waiting for the other one to blink.

"You can't do this!" I cried. "Chiharu knows we're here. The family won't forgive this!"

"You think the family will lift a finger to save you?" said Hiroshi. "I may have been cast out, but I have my allies too. We have weapons and strength enough to withstand a siege."

My mouth fell open. "You're not serious?" I said. "You're declaring war on us?"

"Unless I get my son back safe and unharmed. You tell me that your family would do the same for you – so why shouldn't I?"

"Hiroshi-san," said Satoshi, "we really have nothing to do with Masashi's disappearance, and we're just as anxious as you to find out what's become of him. Quarrelling between ourselves isn't going to solve anything."

"Even if that's true," said Hiroshi, "it will do the two of you no harm to think things over for a little while. You'll come to no harm – so long as you behave yourselves."

There was a long silence. Hiroshi kept the sword pointed towards us, a little unsteadily.

"Very well," I said with a sigh. "It looks as if we'll have to cooperate."

"That's very wise of you."

"But I promise you, this won't be the last you'll hear of this!"

He snorted. "Save your idle threats for the little children you teach, Sonozaki-_sensei_. Now, hand over your phones, both of you, and that little toy of yours, Shion."

Satoshi glanced at me with a frown that seemed to be saying, "If you think it's best for us to go along with this, then I trust you." We handed over our phones and my taser.

"Now," said Hiroshi, "in here, please." He opened a door in the side of the room, just behind the anvil. There wasn't enough light for me to see what was beyond the door. I hesitated.

"No arguments," he said. "I don't have to be so lenient with you."

I bit into my lip; it was so hard to contain my anger! But there was nothing else to be done; it wasn't worth starting a fight. Hiroshi was deluding himself; the family wouldn't stand for this, and we would be out of here very soon. But so much valuable time was being wasted, when we should have been trying to find Masashi! And if he and his men really had captured Karen and Satoko... I just hoped they were all right. I would _never_ forgive Hiroshi if he hurt them!

I shook my head. There was nothing more to say. Satoshi placed his hand on my shoulder, and we stepped into the cell together. And then Hiroshi slammed the door, and we were cast at once into utter darkness.


	27. Part II Ch 10 First Blood

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**10  
>First Blood<strong>

It was a long time before either of us spoke. The first thing I did was to feel around the room. As I had expected, it was a small cell, with crumbly, uneven walls. There seemed to be nothing else in the room; I felt the floor very carefully, unsure whether my hands were going to stumble on the sharp edges of discarded tools, or the bones of the cell's last occupant; but there was nothing.

All this time, Satoshi was resting slumped against the wall, breathing slowly. I wanted so badly to reach over and give him a comforting hug, but something held me back. It was _my_ fault that we were both in this mess. Would Satoshi be angry with me? Would anything I said only make it worse? Should I throw myself on his mercy and tell him everything? It was so hard to know. I felt the agony of indecision rising in my stomach, and I just looked away and tried to hide it.

At last Satoshi sighed and said, "Shion... what is all this about?"

I took a deep breath and walked over to him. "Satoshi, I'm so sorry..."

"I can believe that," he said. "I know you wouldn't have gotten yourself locked up in here on purpose... no, I'm sorry, that was cruel of me. Shion, I know it's not your fault, but I still have to know – what is going on?"

I shook my head. "Satoshi... there's a lot that I don't understand either."

"I'm sure there is. But just tell me the parts you do know."

"All right," I said slowly. It was so hard to know where to begin! "Karen and I came here on Friday, to visit Masashi. We were hoping to invite Masashi and Yumi to the Watanagashi festival – you know, to get the family back together. We've always thought it's such a shame that we should be cut off from our cousins because of the feud between Mother and Uncle Hiroshi..."

"And did Mion know about this peacekeeping attempt?"

"Well, no," I admitted. "You know, she never comes to the Watanagashi, so I thought... one step at a time..."

"You thought you'd do it behind Mion's back because you knew that if you told her what you were doing, she wouldn't like it," Satoshi said with a sigh.

I gulped. "Yes... I suppose you're right..."

"It's all right, Shion," Satoshi said heavily. "I don't want to be too hard on you, and I know it's not entirely your fault. We all make mistakes, right?"

"Yeah, thanks, Satoshi." I said. I turned away again. I suppose it was better than having him angry with me, but really, did he _have_ to talk to me like I was a misbehaving child?

We said nothing more for a long while. I wanted to just curl up and pass the time and wait until the family rescued us, but being confined was so uncomfortable. I paced around for a little, and then felt that maybe this was disturbing Satoshi, so instead I tried sitting on the ground with my back against the wall, but the wall was hard, and rough bits of stone kept digging into my back.

"Shion?" Satoshi said at last.

"Yes?"

"I have to... you know..."

"That's okay. You don't need to apologise for that," I said. Still, the smell did make it even harder to feel relaxed. And Satoshi must be suffering too. What was he thinking now? Did he have any better understanding of Hiroshi's behaviour? I wanted to ask; I wanted to talk it over together and see if he could help me make sense of it all. But again, I was held back. At some point, Satoshi would have to know the truth about Kikuhara... but not yet. Not when we didn't even know for certain whether Kikuhara had anything to do with Masashi's disappearance. For now, I just had to keep silent and go on waiting...

I hated myself, I really did. Only a few days earlier, if I'd had reason to think back to my teenage years, I'd have felt pretty good about how far I'd come since then. And yet... had I really learned anything? I was still making the same stupid mistakes, and for the same reasons.

I loved Satoshi too much.

* * *

><p>I had no idea how much later it was – maybe hours, maybe even a day – my throat was parched with the dust of that little room, but I was too nauseous to feel hunger – the lock of the door clicked open. I looked up at once, and held my breath, hardly daring to hope. It was only going to be Hiroshi or one of the servants, perhaps come to let us have some water, perhaps even to let us stretch our legs for a bit. After all, he surely didn't intend to leave us here with no food or drink until we died, did he? He wouldn't be so mad as to get himself charged with murder...<p>

But it was Satoko. The sudden change in the light made me blink, but even so, there was no mistaking that flash of golden hair. "_Onee-sama!_" she cried. "_I've been so worried!_"

"Satoko!" I leapt up and threw my arms around her, squeezing her tight just so as to make sure that she was really there. "How did you find us? How did you get the keys?"

"It's a long story," she said. "Is Onii-chan there?"

"I'm here," Satoshi said wearily. "Thanks for saving us, Satoko."

"No problem!" she said. "But come on. No time for questions. We've got to get out."

"All right." I let go of her. "What about the door into the cellar? Is that open?"

Satoko shook her head. "There's another way in, Onee-sama. Didn't you realise? This isn't just Masashi's forge, it's also the family's bunker, where they would hole up if it came to war. They would make sure they had a secret way out."

"And how did _you_ find out about it?" said Satoshi.

"As I said, no time for questions."

"Lead the way, then," I said grimly. I wasn't going to let Hiroshi get away with this! I cast my eyes around for a suitable weapon – in this place, there was no shortage of choice! – and settled on a sort of rake, with four prongs that curved to form a claw. The weapon was old, the join between the prongs and the wooden pole a little loose, but it was not rusty. There was a faint trace of blood on the points. Satoshi took a spiked club; Satoko preferred to keep her hands free.

She led us towards the back of the cavern; the light grew dimmer as we went until we could barely see anything. But after so long without light, I didn't need it. The floor was smooth and clear enough, and Satoko kept talking to guide us in the right direction.

We came to a narrow opening into an unlit passage, and Satoko cautioned us to keep as quiet as we could. We crept forward, carefully feeling our way, until Satoko stopped us. The passage curved to the right, but there was an upward flight of stairs on our left, so narrow that it would have been easy to walk right past it. At the top was a door, with a bright light around its edges coming from the room beyond; Satoko waited there for us to catch up, and then she pushed it open and we all three stepped out together.

"Trying to run away so soon?"

I saw a flash of movement over to the side, and I whirled round, lashing out with the rake. The blade of a sword swung round to meet it with a ringing clash. I gripped the sword's point between the prongs and yanked, trying to tug it out of the man's grasp, while he pulled back and tried to wrest it free. But our attackers were too many for us. Another man slipped in between us and got the blade of a knife to my throat. I had to freeze and let go of the rake, or it would have gone into me. They had us surrounded, six of them, all dressed in the smart black outfits typical of Sonozaki henchmen. There was a heavy footstep, and I just managed to turn my head enough to see what I had expected to see: Hiroshi advancing across the room towards us.

Satoko glared at her attacker, telling him that she understood the situation and he needn't be such an idiot as to think he had to keep his blade an inch away from her skin. When he faded back, she stepped forward to confront Hiroshi. "Let us go, Hiroshi-san," she said. "You know who I am. You know what it will mean if you try to keep us imprisoned."

"Yes, I know you all right, Fujiura Satoko," said Hiroshi. "I warned Oryou-sama about you many years ago, but the old woman was too stubborn to listen. Too sentimental. She should have known: someone like you can't change who you are, no matter how much you try to cover it up."

"You know nothing about me," Satoko returned. "How _dare_ you judge us because of our parents?"

"Bad blood always comes out," Hiroshi growled.

"And I could say the same about –"

"_Enough!_" He nodded to the man holding Satoshi. "Any more of this smart talk, and it will be your brother who pays."

"Pah!" said Satoko. "You think I care about that buffoon? He's just a useful tool. You and I, Hiroshi-san, the ones with brains, we're the ones who count. I hoped you would understand this."

"Satoko!" I cried, aghast.

Hiroshi smirked. "So, it's like that, is it?" he said. "Very well, then, you can kill him. We don't need him any more."

I whirled round, ready to throw myself on Hiroshi's men, _anything_, to stop them hurting Satoshi. But I was too late. The man holding Satoshi slid his blade across his throat – and then stopped, staring down at it in bafflement. There was no trace of blood on it at all!

And before he had time to react, Satoshi had thrown a punch that sent him reeling backwards. Another man leapt towards Satoshi, but I jumped on him and clawed my nails into his shoulders and slammed my knee into him, shoving him to the ground. But I didn't have time to get out of the way as the man nearest me jabbed his knife into my back. I looked round. I felt no pain, only a mild tickling sensation. He'd tried to stab me with a knife made of rubber!

While he was still standing there gaping like an idiot, I grabbed Satoshi's club and drove it into the man's stomach. He gasped and staggered back, and that left three of them. But these were no battle-hardened mob henchmen. Hiroshi had cut himself off from the family, and had to make do with local farmhands. Their uniforms were nothing but an elaborate masquerade, like everything else in this house. As soon as things started to go against them, they turned and ran.

That left Satoko to deal with Hiroshi. They were about twenty metres away from each other, both advancing at a steady pace, never taking their eyes off each other. She was still unarmed... no, her hand was reaching down to her pocket. Somehow or other, she had my taser!

Hiroshi leapt to the side, and grabbed the hilt of a large katana hanging on the wall.

"If you want a fight, I'm more than ready for you," he snarled.

But he seemed to be having some difficulty lifting the sword from the wall. He looked down, puzzled, and then gave it a mighty tug. There was a soft scraping sound... from above him. I looked up, and saw the ornamental figure of a samurai in full armour resting on the shelf. The sword came loose at last, and at the same moment the samurai slid along the shelf, tilted, hung for a moment in the air, and then came crashing down directly onto Hiroshi's head. He fell to the ground and lay senseless; his mouth had dropped open so that he looked like a drooling idiot.

"Let's get out of here," said Satoko.

We needed no further bidding, as you can imagine. We practically ran out of the house, without dropping our weapons until we were well and truly outside. It was broad daylight, so we must have been in there overnight at least. The light stung my eyes, but the wonderful smell of fresh air gave me new strength. There was a little outbuilding containing a washroom, and since no-one was around, we stopped to wash our hands and faces before returning to Karen's car. She was there waiting for us, and although I was very curious as to what her adventures had been, I was in no mood to ask any questions until we had left Takatsudo a long way behind us.

* * *

><p>"What's going on?" Karen said. We had entered the grounds of the Sonozaki estate, and were just turning the corner in the long road leading up to the Manor. The main gate was not far ahead of us. But it looked as though we would not be able to get through; there were two police cars in the gate at an awkward angle to each other, blocking the entrance completely. Further up the drive, a van had turned off the road, and was standing right in the middle of our beautiful lawn!<p>

She drew the car to a halt, and we all got out and hurried towards the gate. I was painfully aware of a remnant of the smell of Hiroshi's cellar still clinging to us. This was no way for the daughter of Sonozaki Akane to return to her own home! But I was too worried, too afraid, to think too much about that. Why were the police here again? What had happened while we were locked up in the cellar? Akito and Kotone – where were they? Were they safe?

I squeezed my way between the cars and almost ran to the front door. "Hello?" I called out. "Is anyone home? What's going on here?"

The door to the conservatory opened almost at once, and Kumagai stepped out, followed by two other policemen. At the same moment, Mother came out of the front door, and gasped as she saw us. But before she could say anything, Kotone came charging past her and wrapped her arms tightly round my legs. "_Mother!_" she sobbed. "Where have you been?"

"It's all right, darling, I'm here now," I said. It was all I could think of to say; I was just overwhelmed with relief that my daughter was safe. Kumagai and the policemen advanced towards me and stood around me, looking none too friendly. They didn't even bow.

"Sonozaki-sensei?" said Kumagai. "Would you step in here for a moment?"

I grimaced, and looked round at Satoshi. "Will you look after Kotone?" I said. "I'll make this as quick as I can, I promise."

Kumagai blinked, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but he thought better of it. I followed him towards the conservatory, and the two policemen walked on either side of us, then stood aside to let us enter, and came in after us and stood blocking the door.

"Sit down," Kumagai said, pointing to a chair. I grunted with anger; did he not know this was my home? But I said nothing, and sat down.

"Will you sit?" I said sardonically.

"Thank you, but I prefer to stand," Kumagai returned.

I glared at him, but he refused to rise to the bait.

"So, what _is_ all this?"

"Sonozaki-sensei, where were you between 10 and 11 on Sunday morning?"

"You know where I was! I was at the Watanagashi festival –"

"And you can prove this?"

I stared at him with deep contempt. "Of course! I was with Satoshi, Satoko and Azusa-chan the whole day. Any of them would vouch for me."

"And anyone else? Anyone who is not – pardon me – a friend or a member of the family?"

I blinked. "What are you trying to imply? Kumagai-san, there were _two thousand_ people at the festival. Any of them might remember seeing me – this green hair does stand out."

"But they would only be able to say they saw a woman with long green hair. That description would also fit your twin sister, Sonozaki Mion."

I clenched a fist. "Kumagai-san, Mion doesn't attend the Watanagashi!"

"Such personal habits are not immutable laws of nature. She might go there in your place one year, if there was enough of an incentive to do so."

I closed my eyes and tried hard to swallow my anger. Yes, I had a go at Mion sometimes over her refusal to attend the festival, but in the end, I understood what she was going through, better than anyone else could. Kumagai had no right to attack her like this!

"Well?" he said coldly.

"I suppose she _might_," I replied through gritted teeth. "Kumagai-san, what _is_ all this?"

"Merely routine. I am trying to establish whether you can prove beyond doubt that you were at the Watanagashi festival at the time of Sonozaki Masashi-san's death."

"Well, I suppose I can't, but..." I caught myself and stared at Kumagai, trying to work out whether he had gone mad or I had. "Masashi's _death_? What the _hell_ do you mean?"

He remained expressionless. "You didn't know? Mion-san, for instance, didn't tell you?"

"I haven't been here since yesterday, and my phone... um... broke," I said feebly.

"Very well," Kumagai said with a sigh. He tilted his head up and stared at the ceiling.

"What _happened?_"

He still didn't look at me. "At approximately 2:15 yesterday, Fujiura Satoko-san contacted us to tell us that a trail of footprints had been found at the entrance to the system of underground tunnels known as the Labyrinth. On searching these tunnels, our men came upon a disused well. At the bottom of the well, they found the corpse of a man aged approximately forty, a wound in the front of his chest revealing that he had been murdered by stabbing with a short blade. We took the body to the police station and informed your family. Your cousin, Sonozaki Chiharu-san, was able to identify the body as that of another cousin, Sonozaki Masashi."

I couldn't take this in. "_Masashi_ was in the well?" I cried. "What about Tomitake?"

Kumagai tapped his pen against the mantelpiece. "Tomitake Jirou-san is still missing. He appears to have disappeared from his hotel room on the morning of the Watanagashi festival."

I buried my head in my hands. "It's like Oyashiro-sama's curse all over again," I said. "One person dies and one person disappears, just like it was before..."

"My men are searching for him," said Kumagai. "So far, we have not found any evidence to suggest that his disappearance is connected with the murder of Sonozaki Masashi."

"They _must_ be connected!" I said wildly. _There must be some explanation for all this... Masashi is dead! Is this all happening because I was such an idiot? No, it can't be!_

Kumagai at last turned to face me, with a stern frown. "Do _you_ have any evidence of that?"

"Well... the footprints!" I blustered. "Whose were they?"

"There were two sets of footprints leading up to the well, and only one coming back," said Kumagai. "The first set, the one that did not return, matched the shoes we found on the body of Sonozaki Masashi. The other set..." He shook his head.

"Yes?"

"...matched _your_ shoes, Sonozaki-sensei."

I had to grip the table tightly to keep myself steady. "_What?_"

Kumagai placed a pair of shoes on the table in front of me. "These are yours, yes? Your sister, Sonozaki Mion, seemed quite positive about it."

"Yes... yes, they are," I said mechanically. "That is, those are my gardening shoes. I have indoor shoes, and smart shoes for visiting, which I'm wearing now, and a pair for school, and those old ones for gardening." And it was true. I'd been so flustered by arriving home to be accosted by the police that I'd actually forgotten to change into my indoor shoes. Mother would be furious.

"Do you do much gardening, Sonozaki-sensei?" he said quietly.

I was relieved. Another easy question I could answer mechanically, without having to start thinking about this evidence and what it meant, what was going to happen now, the fact that Masashi was _dead_...

"Not much, no," I said. "It's mostly Sis, though we also hire a gardener to do some of the heavy work. I just have a small patch where I grow flowers and vegetables to take into school... you know, to show the kids in science lessons, get them to draw them, that sort of thing."

"Then you can't tell us when you last wore these?"

I shook my head. "Not for a couple of weeks at least."

"And where were they kept when you weren't wearing them?"

"In the shoe locker by the back entrance to the house."

Kumagai nodded and noted this down. "Then anyone, providing they had a key to the back entrance or it was open for some other reason, could have taken the shoes?"

"That's right." _Thank Oyashiro-sama..._ "So, you _do_ believe it wasn't me?"

Kumagai frowned. "Sonozaki-sensei, you must understand we can't eliminate anyone from our investigation unless we find conclusive proof that that person is innocent. However, you can put your mind at rest one on thing: we're _not_ going to arrest you just because the murderer chose to wear your shoes. Now, can you think of any reason why someone might want to cast suspicion on you in particular?"

He threw this question at me like a slingshot, and then stood back, watching with a smirking quiver of his lip as it shook me. There was a long silence.

"Kumagai-san," I said, "I..." Then I shook my head. I couldn't say this. I couldn't!

But Kumagai was waiting patiently, and wasn't going to move until I answered. I knew the technique; I used it myself when I had to question a naughty child at school.

I stared down at the table. "I quarrelled with Masashi-san. His father, Uncle Hiroshi, already suspects that Mion and I had something to do with his disappearance."

"And who knew about this quarrel?"

That was the question I had least wanted to hear. "My cousin Karen..."

"Anyone else?"

"Well, Masashi's wife Yumi, of course. My sister Satoko... and Azusa-chan was there when I told Satoko about it. Satoshi knows _now_, but I didn't tell him until just now, which must have been after the time of the... the murder..." Tears were coming to my eyes again.

Kumagai nodded, and wrote all this down. I almost felt he was making a show of it, giving me time to stew and think over the implications of what I had said before he fired his next salvo.

"Four people other than yourself, then."

"Yeah."

"And yet" – his voice became suddenly heavy – "when I first asked the question, you mentioned only Sonozaki Karen-san. Not the others." He sat down at last, and leant across the table towards me. "Why do you suspect her in particular?"

"_Kumagai!_" I cried. "That... that's a leading question! It's most improper!"

He smiled. "Of course, as a leading member of the Sonozaki family you would know about interrogation techniques," he commented. I just glared at him. "Still... Karen-san..."

"She came to my mind first because she was there at the time, and that's all there is to it," I said heatedly. "Besides, I just _know_ that neither Satoko nor Azusa-chan would ever commit murder! I mean, not that I suspect Karen either, but – Satoko is my _sister_, and I won't have it!"

"She's not a blood relative, though," said Kumagai.

"Who cares about that?" I practically shouted.

"And her name before she married was Houjou, wasn't it?" Kumagai responded calmly. "We have rather an interesting file on her at the office, left by Detective Ooishi when he retired..."

I lifted myself up to my full height and stared down at him, willing fire to come from my eyes and consume him. "This has absolutely nothing to do with that! Why the hell would Satoko want to kill Masashi, when we'd had no contact with him for fifteen years? _Answer me_, damn it? Why should she? And that file is a damned lie – Satoko never killed her parents, no matter what that meddling idiot Ooishi may have said!"

Kumagai remained infuriatingly imperturbable. "I did not say that I suspected Fujiura Satoko," he said. "I will let you know how the investigation proceeds. Meanwhile, Sonozaki-sensei, I must ask you and your husband Satoshi-san not to leave the village without informing us of your movements. For now, then, farewell."

And he nodded and walked out, his two minions silently following.


	28. Part II Ch 11 Full House

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**11  
>Full House<strong>

I took a deep breath, and waved a clenched fist in the direction Kumagai had disappeared in. I was furious, and still exhausted after our ordeal in the cellar. My arms barely seemed to be under my own control; I wanted to punch myself, just for the feeling of doing _something_, making _someone_ hurt. Damn that Kumagai! How _dare_ he make such insinuations against Satoko? Hadn't she just rescued me and Satoshi – even saved our lives? And now, while his eyes were fixed on Satoko, whoever really had killed Masashi was getting away with it. The anger I had felt towards Masashi after our quarrel had long since evaporated. I blamed Hiroshi much more than I blamed him. I knew Masashi quite well from our younger days, and even though we'd never been close, it was still a tremendous shock to hear that he was dead. And while I had no sympathy left for Hiroshi, it was horrible to think of Yumi and the children, how they would be suffering... if indeed they knew. Yes, if his body was found yesterday, the police would have informed them by now.

Instead of beating myself up, I took my fury out on the door, sending it flying open as I stormed into the dining-room. As I had expected, the others were there already: Mother, Father, Satoshi, Satoko, Chiharu, Karen, and even Mion and Akito. Normally, if I can't make it to school, Mion takes my place, but I suppose she was so worried about me that they must have just closed the school for the day. They all looked round as I entered.

"We need to talk," I said.

"You need to wash," said Mother.

I scowled. "Mother, there's no time –"

"Do as your mother says, Shion," Father said coldly.

I drew a deep sigh. But I knew I wasn't going to win, so I hurried away and washed and got into clean clothes. By the time I returned to the others, my anger had cooled off a little, but I was still shaking with too many emotions. The others were all there as I had left them, except –

"Where's Satoko?"

"The police called her in for interview," said Karen.

"We can't allow this!" I cried, swinging round to face Mother. "Kumagai already suspects her, just because Ooishi suspected her of killing her parents, and _that_ was just because she's a Houjou! It's so unfair... that should all have been over and done with years ago!"

Satoshi shuffled his chair closer and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"We won't let anything happen to Satoko, I promise you," said Mother. "But Shion, I want you to tell us the honest truth – _do_ you know anything about what happened to Masashi?"

"Of course not!" I said heatedly. "I was at the festival all day – wasn't I, Satoshi?"

He nodded.

"That's all right," said Mother. "I believe you, Shion – but we'll have to work out what we're going to do, how we're going to handle Hiroshi."

I opened my mouth to reply; but just then, the house was shaken by the crash of the front door. A heavy bass voice could be heard bellowing, "Yes, I _know_ who you are, and I hope you know who I am! Now stand out of my way!"

And the door of the dining-room swung open and Uncle Saburou strode in. He no longer cut quite the stern and sinister figure of the photograph in Uncle Yoshirou's study; his hair, which he used to wear long and wild, was almost gone, and his moustache reduced to a thin bristle. Still, he had an air of one who knows his own importance, and that could never entirely fade away. Even Chiharu seemed, for once, a little diminished in his presence.

"Saburou!" said Mother, rising to greet him with a bow and a smile. The two of them had always been the closest of the Sonozaki siblings, even though they were the furthest apart in age.

"What's going on, sister?" he said, a little more calmly. "I just got an urgent message from Hiroshi, summoning me and my children to a family conference – Meiko told me our daughters are both here, and I arrive to find the police in possession of the place!"

"I'm not going back to Hiroshi's, Father!" cried Karen.

He glared at her, with a flick of his eyebrows telling her to be silent, and repeated his question. "What's going on?"

"Oh, don't you see?" said Chiharu. "He's trying to make us choose sides. Masashi's been murdered, Shion-chan is a suspect, and Hiroshi is about to declare open war on Aunt Akane."

Saburou stood quite still and blinked several times.

"I don't believe this," he said at last. "Shion, is this true?"

"Yes!" I burst out. "But I didn't do it, Uncle! None of us knows who did. The police suspect Satoko, but she's innocent too, I'm sure of it!"

"Shion and Satoko were with me at the Watanagashi festival at the time," said Satoshi.

"Hiroshi tried to kidnap Shion and _torture_ her to make her confess!" Karen blurted out.

"_What?_" cried Akito.

But no-one paid him any attention. All eyes were on Saburou as he looked from one of us to another with an inscrutable frown. I'm sure we all felt then that getting him on our side was the most important thing; if he and Toshio agreed to help us, Hiroshi would have to accept that he couldn't win against the rest of us combined. He would have to come to an agreement, and accept whatever the police concluded about Masashi's murder. And Toshio would go along with whatever his father decided.

All Saburou said in the end was "Why does Hiroshi suspect you in the first place, Shion?"

There was another long silence. I was expecting, or perhaps hoping, that one of the others would take the question, but Saburou _had_ directed it at me.

"Masashi's car was at the Manor," I said. "It looks like he was visiting here at the time he disappeared – but no-one inside the Manor saw him, and Gorou didn't hear him ring the doorbell."

"Then perhaps he was visiting someone else in Hinamizawa?"

"But whom?" said Mion. "He doesn't know anyone else here; neither Hiroshi nor Masashi has come near the village since the estrangement. Besides" – she gave me a glance that said "we might as well tell him" – "his body was found in the old well. But Hiroshi doesn't know that yet."

"I see," Saburou said with a frown.

"Uncle Saburou, you have to believe me!" I cried. "I'm innocent!"

Saburou turned away. "It's no business of mine whether you're innocent or not, Shion," he said. "That's for the police to decide." He glanced behind him at his daughters. "Chiharu, Karen, it's time we were getting home."

"But, Father –" Karen began.

Chiharu placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. She went silent.

"But what are we going to do about Hiroshi?" said Mion. "Uncle Saburou, you must help us! Hiroshi would listen to you. If you don't make him see reason, this could turn into war!"

Saburou looked back round at her, and sighed and shook his head.

"That is no longer my business," he said. "I'm retired, and I highly doubt that my brother would listen to me now."

"Toshio has your position in the Prefectural Assembly..."

"Toshio is a member of the younger generation. Hiroshi would not take any threats coming from him seriously."

"But if we all stood together over this..."

Mion was tense, her eyes pleading. Saburou just shook his head again.

"You ask too much, Mion. If the police find Masashi's killer then I will do my best to persuade Hiroshi to accept the official verdict. Until then..."

"You can't even take my word for it that I'm innocent?" I cried.

He sighed. "Shion, you must accept that the evidence points to someone in the house being guilty. If this is going to turn into a war, I can't honestly stand on your side unless I know for sure that _all_ of you are innocent." He looked around, then at Mother. "No offence meant, sister."

"None taken," she said coldly, without returning his bow. "We are Sonozakis, after all. Were this not such a desperate situation, I would take that as a compliment."

"Then there is nothing more to be said," said Saburou; and he nodded once to the room in general, then turned and strode smartly through the door.

Mother remained staring after him in silence as Chiharu and Karen followed him out; Mion clenched her fists and ground her teeth; Father moved his fingers idly up and down the table, blinking and looking bored.

"What are we going to do?" I said at last.

"We must prepare for war," said Mother. "Get the word out to everyone who's on our side. Shion, you tell Kasai. Mion, you know what to do. Satoshi, check all the doors and locks. And Akito, tell Kotone that there's no more playing outside until this is settled."

"What about you, Father?" I said. "Is there any way we can get the Misoras to help?"

Father snorted. "The Misoras would _never_ help the Sonozakis."

"Not even for you?"

He drew a deep sigh. "Shion, you _know_ the answer to that. My brother Zenichi and I were both in love with the same woman" – he smiled at Mother and ran a finger over the back of her hand – "and he made it quite clear that I can't go running to him when I need a favour."

Mion slammed a fist on the table. "But this isn't about some trivial favour! We're in danger of our lives!"

"I think you're exaggerating a little...," said Mother.

"Didn't you hear what Hiroshi did to Shion?"

"What did he do?" cried Akito.

"But, Mion," said Father, disregarding him, "if we ask Zenichi to help us, then by the same token, we're asking his men to risk their lives for us. We can't do that."

"_Fine_," said Mion. "Then it comes down to how many men we can gather to defend the Manor, versus how many Hiroshi has at his command if he chooses to attack us."

"But we just don't know that," I pointed out.

"We can get Satoko to spy for us..."

I shared a glance with Satoshi. "Nee-chan," he said, "you don't... _really_... think this is going to turn into actual war?"

Mion grimaced. "I don't know, Satoshi, but I think we have to treat it as such, or we risk being taken by surprise." She nodded to me. "Shion, you have your orders. Get Kasai and his task force up to date and on our side. Report to me when you've done that, all right?"

"All right," I said, and I bowed to the others and left the room.

* * *

><p>"Shion, what the hell is this?" said Kasai.<p>

We were together in Angel Mort; I had decided it was better to tell Kasai the news in person, to show him I wasn't afraid of him. Besides, Angel Mort's desserts were legendary – and how long was it since I had last eaten?

"It's exactly what I said. Uncle Hiroshi seems likely to declare war on us, and we have to make sure that everyone is on the alert and ready to fall back and help us defend Sonozaki Manor if the need arises."

"Then I pray to Oyashiro-sama that it never does."

I nodded. "But we have to be ready. Hiroshi may strike at any time."

"Why not just have him arrested?" said Kasai. "According to your story, he locked you and Satoshi-san in his cellar. That's kidnapping."

I shook my head. "We've only got mine and Satoshi's word for that. If we threaten him with arrest, he could equally well have all of _us_ arrested for trespassing. And I don't know whose side the police would take. They're not particularly sympathetic towards us at the moment."

Kasai groaned. "And would there be any point in asking _why_ you did such a foolish thing?"

I scowled at him. "We were trying to help! How were we to know Hiroshi was going to act like that?"

"His son had just disappeared..."

"We didn't know that at the time!"

Kasai hid his face in his hands. "You really do have a knack for getting into scrapes, Shion," he said. "And no, you can't always blame Karen. You've messed this one up well and truly."

I clenched a fist under the table.

"I know, Kasai," I made myself say. "I'm sorry."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you really?"

"Kasai, this isn't about apportioning blame. Hiroshi's the one who's way out of line!"

Kasai sighed. "Well, you're right in one respect," he said. "Dishing out blame isn't going to help solve the problem. But I must ask you one question, Shion. What are _you_ going to be doing while my men and I risk our lives to protect you and your family?"

"Well, I'll be there, of course! I have to make sure my children are safe."

Kasai nodded. "Good. You'd better get to that at once, then. As you said yourself: Hiroshi may strike at any time."

"I'm going back home right now," I said. "I knew I could count on you."

"Always," said Kasai. "I'd do anything for Akane-san, you know that."

I gave him a weak smile, and hurried away.

* * *

><p>As soon as I got back to the Manor, I could see that something was wrong. And I don't just mean that we were preparing for a threat of war. I mean that something had already gone <em>very<em> wrong. It was still early afternoon, not yet time for the lights to be on and the curtains drawn. But the curtains were all closed, except for the front hallway and the dining-room. The police cars had gone, and all our cars were out of sight – well, that was to be expected. But it did contribute to the feeling of stillness and desolation. It was a house of mourning.

"Hello?" I called out – remembering my indoor shoes this time. "Mother? Satoshi? Sis?"

"Ssh, dear, your grandmother's having a nap," Mother said as she came out from the dining-room and gave me a hug. Her head drooped over my shoulder, and she sobbed as I held her tight.

"Mother? What's wrong?"

She just breathed slowly for a long while. I gently stroked her shoulder.

"Shion, that policeman – that oaf, Kumagai –"

"What about him?"

"He took Satoko back to the police station for further questioning..."

"_How dare he?_" I cried. "She's done nothing! It's Uncle Hiroshi he should be arresting! I'll tear him apart, I'll have his fingernails, I'll..."

"Shion," Mother said gently. "He only took Satoko for questioning. It doesn't mean she's under arrest. But..."

"But he could have questioned her here!" I said heatedly. "If he took her to the station, that means he's keeping an eye on her. She might as well be under arrest!"

"Shion, please... please keep calm..."

"I'm sorry, Mother," I said. "It's just – Satoko – it's my fault she got entangled with this sorry business in the first place."

"You mustn't blame yourself, Shion," said Mother. "Especially not for – for what just happened – you couldn't have known..."

I felt myself trembling. Mother meant that something more had happened, I knew it. _"It doesn't mean she's under arrest. But..."_ That "but" spoke volumes. If something had happened to Satoko, I would never forgive myself! All right, it wasn't entirely my fault; Mother was right there. Hiroshi was at the back of all this, and he would pay dearly. And yet – he'd been driven to desperation by the loss of his son. Whoever it was who killed Masashi, they were the _real_ culprit here. When I got my hands on them – oh, they would find out that the Sonozakis hadn't forgotten any of the ancient arts of torture we're reputed for.

"What happened, Mother?"

Through her sobs, her answer finally came. "Kumagai... he went ahead with Satoko, while the others stayed behind to ask more routine questions. And the car carrying Kumagai and Satoko – it never arrived at the station. As far as anyone can tell... it just vanished into thin air."

"What?" I cried. I gently let go of her, and swivelled round.

"Shion – where are you going?"

"I've got to tell Rika-chan." And I wasn't going to hang round and argue.

Mother sighed. "All right. But, Shion – be careful, won't you?"

I didn't look round. I nodded grimly, and strode out, slamming the front door behind me. I was still wearing my indoor shoes.


	29. Part II Ch 12 Melancholy of Furude Rika

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**12  
>The Melancholy of Furude Rika<strong>

Dark clouds were spreading over Hinamizawa as I approached the shrine, a thick veil of inky blue billowing out until it covered the sky. The air was bitterly cold, surprising for that time of year, and I found myself hurrying. It seemed the other villagers didn't like it any more than I did, for there was no-one out on the streets. A lantern stood above the gate to guide travellers onto the shrine precinct, and a few lights were on in the main building, giving the area a kind of ambient glow. With the trees all around it, the precinct was a little haven of light fighting back against the oncoming darkness. There was no wind, but the leaves just above one of the buildings were rustling. For a moment I felt uneasy, as if I was being watched. Then a soft voice called down to me, and I knew that it was only Rin, the Furudes' black cat. She was almost invisible through the leaves, an ever-vigilant sentinel; but she knew I was a friend, so she let me pass and faded away to keep watch elsewhere.

I let myself in; Rika never keeps the door locked. The hallway was silent, but a flickering light came through the large door halfway down, which led to the main prayer room. So Rika was there? I hastened my footsteps. This wasn't her regular hour for prayers. I only hoped that she wasn't overexerting herself, in her present condition.

I slid the door open gently, but it still made a creak that could not be missed. Rika sat in front of the altar with her head bowed; she did not look round.

I stood there for a moment, feeling awkward, and then coughed gently. "Rika-chan?"

"Shion-chan, is that you?" she said, still not looking round. "I was expecting you."

I made a sound that was part gulp and part chuckle. "Did Oyashiro-sama tell you?"

"No." Now that I was closer, I could hear that she was breathing with difficulty. I knelt down close by her and rested a hand on her shoulder to relax her, telling her there was no need to hurry her words. "I knew you'd want to speak to me – as soon as I heard the terrible news."

"Oh, so you already knew about that." I felt deflated somehow. "Who told you?"

"Mion-chan."

"Of course." I gripped her hand tightly in mine. "Rika-chan, I'm so sorry."

"I know," she said in between deep breaths. "But it's not your fault. We have to hope... that Oyashiro-sama watches over Satoko-chan and keeps her safe."

"Rika-chan..."

She closed her eyes and swayed back and forth a little. Then, at last, she looked up and smiled at me, and spoke with renewed energy. "Nipaa! Don't be cross, Shion-chan. I know that you would rather take action; that is your nature. But one must be careful not to act too hastily."

I blinked as I tried to understand this. Rika's warnings were often cryptic – unfortunately, that's _her_ nature. Was there some specific action she was trying to warn me against? Perhaps she meant that I mustn't jump to conclusions about who the culprit was. In which case, since Hiroshi was clearly the obvious suspect... I shook my head. It was simplest just to ask.

"Rika-chan," I said, "do _you_ know who has kidnapped Satoko?"

"No." She took another deep breath. "Help me stand up, please, Shion-chan."

I took hold of both her hands and lifted her slowly. She really had grown heavy, and swayed awkwardly as she struggled to keep her balance; but she held on to me with the lightest of touches, showing that she trusted me to keep her steady. She smiled gratefully, and then, quite suddenly, threw her arms around me, dropped her head onto my shoulder, and started to cry.

"Shion-chan... you're so strong... and I don't know how you manage it... I envy you..."

"Don't talk nonsense," I said. I held her close against my chest, hoping that the steady thumping of my heart would replenish her energy. "Why, Rika-chan, you're the strongest of us all! Didn't you prove that, when we fought together to defeat Takano?"

"I don't know what's happened to me, Shion-chan," she said. "Perhaps it's because I'm married now... after everything I've been through, if I knew that I had to die, I would face up to it and do my best to smile. But I'm scared about what will happen to my children..."

I shuddered a little. "I know what you mean," I said. "That's what frightens me the most too... Hiroshi's lost his son, and I'm scared that he might take revenge by hurting Akito or Kotone. But, Rika-chan, why are you thinking about death? There's no reason for Hiroshi to kill you!"

"I know," she said quietly. "But, Shion-chan, I can feel it coming closer all the same..."

"Death?" I asked her.

Her head was still nestling on my shoulder, so that I couldn't see her face. "Fate," she said.

I gave a deep sigh. "Don't say that, Rika-chan!" I said. "What's come over you, all of a sudden? We defeated fate together once, didn't we?" I stepped back and tilted her head upwards. "Look at me, Rika-chan. Is this all just something Yanagida's been saying?"

She squirmed. "Did... did Kizuna tell you about that?"

"Not directly; I heard it through Akito," I said. "Rika-chan, why are you listening to him?"

"He has a lot of support," said Rika. "He's been warning people that the time has come for the curse of Oyashiro-sama to strike again, and now, after Masashi-san's death and Tomitake's disappearance, I'm afraid that people are going to believe him."

"Oh, _Rika_..." I shook my head. "Who cares what he says? You know the truth. There is no Oyashiro-sama's curse, and there's no fate that's too strong for us to defeat it."

"Thanks, Shion-chan," she said. "I want to believe that, but... I feel fate creeping up on me all the same. Every time I turn around for a moment, it gets a little bit closer... it's watching me all the time, waiting in the shadow, letting me know that I can't escape..."

"Oyashiro-sama will protect you. You know that."

"I know," said Rika. "And I will ask Oyashiro-sama to watch over your children. You know that Oyashiro-sama loves you, Shion, because of the bravery you showed when we fought Takano."

I sighed and shook my head. "I wasn't brave, Rika-chan. I was just a stupid teenager, throwing myself into danger because I believed I couldn't die. I was _selfish_."

"Don't say that!" Rika pressed her nails into my arm, and I winced.

"But it's true." I shut my eyes. "I was so reckless. I nearly threw my life away back then, and I didn't even think about what I was doing. What if I'd died? How do you think Mion would have felt – and Satoshi, when he woke up?"

Rika took her nails out of me, and ran her hand smoothly down my arm. "Don't say that, Shion-chan. No matter what you might say about yourself, you _are_ brave. You couldn't have defended us like that if you weren't. You sacrificed yourself because you cared about your friends so deeply – and you still do. That's why you're here now, isn't it? You want to do whatever it takes to save Satoko, even if you have to storm Hiroshi's house single-handed."

_At last!_ Here was the understanding I'd been waiting for for so long. My own family refused to appreciate what Satoko meant to me – but Rika knew at once. Of course she did. She loved Satoko too. If it hadn't been for her pregnancy, I knew I could count on her to stay by my side until we rescued Satoko together.

"Hiroshi's house?" I said after a while. "Do you think that's where she is?"

Rika shook her head. "I'm sorry, that was just an example. Let's not jump to conclusions."

"But who else would want to harm Satoko?"

"I don't know," Rika said slowly. "But considering her close connection with a yakuza family, there will be many people who have a motive for kidnapping her, or..." Her voice trailed off, and I knew why. The possibility that something worse had already happened to Satoko was just too horrible to think about.

"No-one in these parts would dare to make an enemy of the Sonozakis," I said cheerfully, trying to lift her spirits a little.

"Even now – when the Sonozakis seem to be preoccupied with fighting each other?"

There was a long silence. I looked away. I couldn't meet Rika's eyes just then.

"_Damn_," I said.

"You have an idea, Shion-chan?"

I nodded and took a deep breath. "It's the Kanahebi. It must be. This is what they've been waiting for all along, to give them their chance to strike. _Damn!_ Why didn't I think of it sooner, that Satoko would be in danger? She's the niece of Houjou Teppei as well, after all."

"Teppei?" said Rika. "How does he fit into all this?"

I explained, as briefly as I could, the story of the news I had heard from Tsushima.

"Hmm." Rika waddled over to the window, and rested leaning on the sill. "You should sit down, Shion-chan. And can I get you a drink?"

"No, I'm fine. I really don't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble. I just want a little time to think," she said sweetly. "So, you think that the Kanahebi have kidnapped Satoko to get information about Teppei's money, and you think they killed Masashi in order to create a rift among the Sonozaki family and stop you fighting back. But what about Tomitake's disappearance – how do you explain that?"

"I don't know," I said. I paced around the room; I couldn't bring myself to sit. "Tomitake was staying in Okinomiya, and so was Kikuhara. Perhaps Tomitake found out about their plans, and had to be silenced?"

"Perhaps," Rika said carefully. "It still seems strange that he should disappear at Sonozaki Manor, when it would have been easier for the Kanahebi to kidnap him in Okinomiya. Also, how would this agent, Kikuhara, have known about the quarrel between you and Hiroshi?"

I frowned. "I don't know. I'll have to ask Uncle Yoshirou whether anyone visited him..."

"I'm afraid that you probably won't find anything out. He must have known he would be under observation, so I doubt he would let himself be seen meeting his contact," said Rika.

"But then how else could he have known about the quarrel?"

"Perhaps someone told him over the phone."

"And who in Hinamizawa would know his phone number?" I retorted; and then I caught my breath. "Rika-chan, are you suggesting there's a _spy_ in the Sonozaki family?"

She had turned away, and was staring into the fire. "It does look that way," she said. "Only the people who were in the Manor at the time would have known precisely when Satoko left."

"But – that's crazy!" I cried. "That's me, Mion, Satoshi, Mother and Father, Akito and Kotone, and Oni-baba. One of _them_ a spy?"

"I suppose Oryou-sama can be eliminated," said Rika. "What about the servants? And wasn't Karen-san with you?"

I blinked. "Rika-chan, the servants have all been with the family all their lives. And Karen – how do you know about her, by the way? – Uncle Saburou took Karen and Chiharu away before Kumagai left with Satoko." I frowned thoughtfully as I tried to remember. _Had_ they left before Kumagai did? All the events of the last few days were now blurring into each other in my mind.

"I see. They can't be entirely eliminated, all the same," said Rika. "Any of them may have made a reasonable guess that Kumagai was going to arrest Satoko. It would only be a guess, but they may still have thought it worth acting on."

I took a deep breath. "But _why_, Rika-chan? Why would any of them betray the family?"

"I'm sorry, Shion-chan... you probably will not want to hear this..."

"Tell me!"

She turned back to face me. "Well, you know that Satoko and Satoshi-kun were seen as outcasts, ever since the Dam War. Someone may have felt that it was for the good of the family... to get rid of her..."

"_No!_" I cried.

"Shion-chan, please be calm," she said. She was trying to move across towards me, and since she was clearly uncomfortable and very tired, I made myself calm down so she could relax.

"You must admit," she said, "the family have never exactly welcomed Satoko."

"But Oni-baba herself ordered the family to accept her!"

"But Oryou-sama is a dying woman. You know that she must return to Oyashiro-sama soon."

"It wouldn't surprise me if the old lady lives to be a hundred," I snorted. "I swear, she's more demon than human..."

"But the family expect her to die," said Rika. "They have been expecting it for years. And when she does – some people might find it convenient to be rid of Satoko."

I gritted my teeth. I understood what Rika was saying, but – she couldn't be right! She just _couldn't_! "But who?" I said. "Mother and Father love Satoko like their own daughter, I promise you. Saburou approves of her – well, he would, she's almost like his female clone. Satoshi's her brother, and the kids love Satoko and Saki-chan." I took a deep breath. "We come back to Hiroshi again..."

Rika nodded. "Please be careful, Shion-chan."

"Oh, I will," I said. "But there's no way I'm letting him get away with this! Kidnapping a police officer, too... the police will be down on him like a ton of bricks as soon as we have proof."

There was another silence.

"But, Shion-chan," said Rika, "how will you get proof?"

"I'm going to Okinomiya right now," I said. "No, Rika-chan – please don't interrupt. I've got to find out about Kikuhara. If there's been any contact between him and Hiroshi that we can prove, then we can go to the police. Hiroshi can't hold out against us and the police together."

"All right," said Rika. "That sounds like a sensible plan – but, please be careful, all right?"

"I promise," I said. And I walked over to her and hugged her tight. "And you make sure you get some rest, all right?"

"I promise," Rika said in return.

* * *

><p>Soon afterwards, I was in Uncle Yoshirou's office in Okinomiya once more. He was in his usual seat, puffing one of his never-ending supply of cigarettes, and when I entered the room, he looked up at me with the blank expression that was the nearest he ever came to showing surprise.<p>

"Uncle Yoshirou." I bowed. "I'm glad to see that you, at least, haven't been browbeaten by Hiroshi into taking his side."

"No," Yoshirou said smoothly, "but I've been given dire warnings about the consequences if I took yours."

I sighed. "I'm not here to ask you to take any sides, Uncle. I just want a report on your mission. Has anyone called on Kikuhara at the hotel?"

"No," Yoshirou said at once. "I can tell you that straight off. In all the time he was here, he never had any visitors."

"All right." I said, frowning deeply. It looked as though Rika was right; it would not be so easy to find evidence as I had thought. I was about to leave, when the significance of Yoshirou's exact words struck me. "Wait – all the time he was here?" I said. "He's _gone_?"

"He's gone," said Yoshirou.

"You mean he's left the hotel?" I said sharply.

Yoshirou took a slow drag on his cigarette. "Just for you, Mion, I had a man shadow him as far as Shishibone. He caught the Shinkansen back to Tokyo."

"What!" I cried. "But, then... he must have got what he came for!"

Yoshirou leant forward and looked at me intently. "So, you _do_ know what he came for," he said. "I did wonder, after our conversation earlier. And are you going to enlighten me?"

I sighed. "Uncle, I..."

"No, I suppose I should have known better than to expect it," he said. "But listen, Mion – you can't expect me to help you if you're not going to be honest about what's going on. I don't want to end up with Hiroshi breathing fire down my neck."

"You won't," I said mechanically. "I just need to know about Kikuhara. Um... did he go out at all while he was here?"

"I couldn't get someone to shadow him all the time," Yoshirou said, a little crossly. "Yes, of course he went out of the hotel. He never caught the bus to Hinamizawa, I can guarantee that. But he may have been picked up by car and gone there at some point..."

"You're hopeless, Uncle!" I cried.

"Well, what did you expect me to do?" he retorted. "You give me a damn impossible task, and you won't even tell me why keeping track of this man is so important –"

"He's a lieutenant of the Kanahebi!"

"And that doesn't mean he's come here to do any mischief."

"You are so obtuse," I snarled. "So – did he get any phone calls while he was here?"

"Not on the hotel line. As to his own phone, I really couldn't say."

I clenched a fist. So, Kikuhara had outwitted us, in spite of all my precautions! But – if he'd left by train, then at least he couldn't have taken Satoko with him without his shadow noticing.

"But he must know that Satoko's been secured," I said, thinking out loud. "That's why he's gone back to Tokyo. I don't suppose I could have a look round his room? There might be clues..."

"It will already have been cleaned, and there might be another occupant in it now."

"Damn!" I cried, slamming my fist against the wall. "They planned this too well. Uncle, I've got to go. Oh, if they've harmed a single hair on Satoko's head, I'll never forgive myself!"

And I ran out of the room without even giving him a chance to reply.

* * *

><p>I was back at the Manor ten minutes later. All was quiet. Judging from which lights were on as I approached the house, Mother and Father were having one last drink together in the library, while Satoshi was upstairs taking care of Oni-baba. I wondered whether he would tell her about what happened to Satoko. The old woman was very fond of her, and she would be just as worried as any of us, all the more because there was nothing she could do except lie in bed and wait for news. Perhaps Satoshi would decide it was best not to worry her. But surely, she would have noticed by now that <em>something<em> was wrong, that the mood of the whole house had changed. And from what I knew of Oni-baba, she wouldn't give Satoshi any peace until she'd wormed it out of him. But I had no time to spare for the old woman now. I had business of my own to attend to; and if the others were all busy, that was all the better. They didn't know I was back; if I returned later than expected, I could just say I had stayed to talk with Rika until I felt sure she was all right.

I slipped carefully through the corridors. Just in case anyone saw me, it was better to go this way than round the back of the house; easier to invent an excuse. But I met no-one, all the way to the back door. Taking one last look round to make sure that no-one was in sight, I slid the door open and headed across the lawn to the bunker – and the entrance to the Labyrinth.

The door was sealed with crisscrossing tape, and a fresh padlock gleamed smugly up at me. The police had firmly closed it off.

I snorted. Did they really think they could keep me out so easily? I am a true Sonozaki. I've known my way around the Manor, the Labyrinth and the lands beyond since I was smaller than Kotone is now. And when Mion was chosen to be brought up as the heir, I knew I'd have to be sneaky to keep up with her. I know a few entrances and secret passages that even she doesn't. But there was no need to go that far. The nearest entrance was the one through the wine cellar.

The door at the back of the cellar opened easily. Just as I'd expected, the police had given no thought at all to closing the other entrances. Simple fools.

I closed the door behind me with a heavy boom, and the last shaft of light coming through the cellar disappeared. Alone in the dark, I stood for a moment with my head turned upwards, and laughed. I would show them all – the police, Hiroshi and even the Kanahebi – what it meant to have Sonozaki Shion as your enemy. They might think they had me beaten, but I still had some weapons at my disposal. Soon enough, they would realise how foolish they had been.

The door was a long way behind me now. I was in a long passage, sloping downward; I knew it so well that I didn't need any light to find my way. Just around here, there was a cranny in the wall where I would find a torch – yes, there it was. I turned it on and shone the beam down the passage, over the racks of weapons and implements that stood lined up on either wall. And, on the left, artfully concealed by a jutting-out wall of rock, was a tiny gap that you could just squeeze through. But before I went in there – I selected a knife from the rack of weapons, and touched the point against my palm to make sure it was suitably sharp. That was all I would take; everything else I needed for the ritual would already be in the room.

I took a deep breath. The touch of the knife had reminded me of what I was about to do, and how much it would cost me – but I could not turn back now! I would show the world that I still had the strength of the Sonozaki Shion of the old days. I could put up with a little pain, for Satoko, for Rika, for all of them. I gripped the knife tightly, and slipped into the gap in the wall.

Mion has a tattoo on her back representing the Sonozaki demon – a tattoo that the oldest child of each generation has been given as far back as our history can remember. Legend speaks of a distant ancestor, Sonozaki Mao, who made a bargain with the Black Demon, a bargain to gain the power that made us one of the three Great Houses of Hinamizawa. In return for a terrible price, the demon promised Mao his services whenever she summoned him. And that power has been passed down through the Sonozaki bloodline ever since, to whoever bears the demon tattoo...

But there is one secret that no-one knows, except for the two of us. On the day Mion was given the tattoo, we had been playing together, exchanging clothes and hairstyles as we often did, and they had taken her and given her the tattoo by mistake instead of me. _I_ was really the first-born Sonozaki. Even if Mion had the tattoo, even if no-one except for us knew the truth, the power to summon the Black Demon still belonged to me!

And now, as I stepped into the little circular room on the other side of the passage, that was exactly what I was about to do.


	30. Part II Ch 13 Flesh and Flame

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**13  
>Flesh and Flame<strong>

A gust of cold air struck me in the face, coming down the chimney that was there to carry away the smoke from the ritual fires. But it could not entirely take away the smell of that room, a smell that was thick and musty from the remnants of all the incense that had been burned there, all the blood that had been spilled. I coughed and tried to wave the smell away, but it did no good.

There was an alcove at the back of the room that contained everything I needed for the ritual, except wood for the fire; this was kept in a small cupboard to keep it dry. I took out a small amount and placed it in the stone bowl on the altar in the centre of the room, then poured oil over it and set it alight. A flame sprang up at once, swirling about as it tried to probe its way through the darkness, rising higher and higher. Instinctively, I shrank back from the flame; not that I was afraid, of course not. I could not afford to show fear; that would be no way to impress the demon.

All the same, it was an awe-inspiring sight. In the light of the flame, I could now see the carvings on the walls: ancient seals and inscriptions to ward off any spirits who might be tempted to interfere once the gateway to the spirit world was opened. On each wall of the chamber was a little shrine, and I took a brand from the fire and lit incense in each of them, to placate the spirits of the eight directions. By the time the last one was lit, the scent was overpowering, filling the little space and permeating every breath I took. My senses were taken half into the spirit world, where they looked out over vast fields of enchanting flowers, under a sunset sky that swirled with streams of silver stars.

White lines were carved on the floor, forming a star around the altar, with other carvings cutting across them and joining them into an intricate maze. At each point of the star, symbols of power and binding were engraved into the rock. I carefully knelt by each one in turn, scraping the dust off them until they shone almost white in the darkness. Then, a flick of the knife against my skin, a finger dripping with blood tracing the outline of each symbol, and their power was active.

There was a change in the air almost at once. A wind seemed to be reaching me through the solid rock; there was a moaning in the distance like a gale whipping through the forest. They were watching me, I knew it. But I was not ready yet. I had to take myself far enough into their world that I could speak to them.

I stepped inside the star, carefully threading my way through the powerful barriers. Then I laid the knife aside for a moment, and tied a blindfold over my eyes. I think I shook a little; I knew how much this was going to hurt. But for Satoko, I would endure any pain!

I held the blade of the knife in the flame until I could hear the drops of blood evaporating and hissing off it. Then I knelt down, felt around for the basin and pushed it under my arm, and rolled up my sleeve.

I was ready for that moment, a single moment when nothing existed but pain as the searing metal came in contact with my skin. But nothing could prepare me for what it actually felt like: a fizzing, churning sensation like a waterfall coursing through my whole body. It held me in constant awareness, drowning out all other sensations; at once, I forgot everything else except how much I wanted to escape. I may even have screamed. If I did, I could not hear myself.

I pressed the blade deeper, breathing rhythmically to keep myself still. This was good. This was necessary. The pain helped to block out awareness of the mundane world and open my senses to the world of the spirits. Blood dripped from my arm into the basin. I dipped a finger in it. It went right up to the first joint. Was it really spilling so fast, or had I just lost my sense of time?

I could see them now, shapes moving across my field of vision like clouds floating through the night. They were circling round, watching me, waiting to see whether I would make a mistake.

I had enough blood now, and the first shock of the pain had dulled enough that I could just about get to my feet. I wobbled as I stood; the world was swaying around me and I could no longer tell which way to move to keep myself balanced. Still, I reached out and gripped the edge of the altar, and that kept me steady enough.

There was a jar resting next to the altar, containing a grainy black powder. I took out a handful and threw it on the fire, and at once the room began to fill with a heavy smoke. It reeked of burning flesh and the anguish of tortured souls. Then I tipped the basin containing my blood over the flames. I staggered; my arm was still in intense pain. But I could not bandage it, not until the ritual was over. I bit into my lip for a moment, then turned and bowed my head. It was time.

"Black Demon!" I called out. "Hear the voice of your lost child!"

I bowed low, repeating the phrase over and over. The fire crackled vigorously as it fought back against a wind that came buffeting towards it, causing the smoke to billow out until I was nearly suffocated by its sheer intensity. Each breath was a pain, taking in sparks like sharp needles that flew into the back of my throat and stung. There was no doubt now; the demon was coming.

"Black Demon!" I said – though speaking through the pain reduced my voice to a whisper. "By the ancient powers that bind all demons and mortals, I call you forth to honour our contract once more. I am Sonozaki Shion, heir to the Sonozaki bloodline, and your rightful master!"

As though a sudden wind whipped the fire to life, it sprang upwards with a roar and a whoosh, so bright that I could see it through my blindfold. The flames whirled around each other in a fantastic dance, gripping each other and springing like happy children. The Demon was making its presence known. It must be just outside the circle now. I just had to keep my nerve and speak the right words. I could do this. The pain was nothing to me now.

"Black Demon, you have been a friend to my family since ancient times," I said. "In honour of that friendship... I ask you... step forth into the circle."

I waited. The demons waited too. One wrong move and they would have me.

I could feel the air around me growing colder, thicker, darker as the demon stepped closer. As soon as it was fully inside the circle, I tore the blindfold from my eyes. The symbol at the northeast point had faded. With the blood still remaining in the basin, I reactivated it. No. Not enough. My stomach felt as if it was about to cave in, trying to tell me that I couldn't take any more pain. But I had to. I pressed the blade into my skin again, and more blood fell out. I traced the outline of the symbol. No good – my finger was slipping. I couldn't see clearly enough; the room was still a blur. My feet weren't steady.

_Stop making excuses, Shion! You're stronger than this!_

I bit my lip and closed my eyes for a second, then opened them once more and completed the symbol. There, it was done. The Black Demon was inside the circle; the other demons where they belonged, outside. It was over.

I wrapped the blindfold around my arm as a makeshift bandage. It stung horribly, but at least it kept the rest of my blood inside. The pain would die down; I just had to give it time.

"O Black Demon," I said, making a bow, "I have summoned you because a great evil is threatening my family. My uncle, Sonozaki Hiroshi, has broken away from the family and declared war on us. He..." I paused and took a deep breath. I had known from the beginning that it would come to this, but it was still not easy to say the words that would seal his fate. But there was only one kind of restitution that the demons understood. "_He must be dealt with._"

The fire crackled loudly in reply.

I closed my eyes and bowed my head again. "I will be here to keep my side of the bargain," I said. "I will not run away. In the name of Sonozaki Mao, let the contract be sealed."

And then there was only a sound like a soft wind blowing mournfully through the trees. The suffocating smell of the smoke began to lift, and I felt a whiff of fresh air hit my face; and it was almost like running through a dark forest and seeing a light come into view ahead just when you had given up hope. I poured water over the fire and ran from the room. I would come back and clean up the blood and everything else later. I just had to get out of there.

* * *

><p>"Where on earth have you been?" said Satoshi.<p>

I had stumbled up the stairs and back into the main part of the Manor. The bandage was still wrapped tightly around my arm, and I hoped that the blood wasn't showing too much. _Stupid_. Of course it was showing. It wasn't just on my arm; it must be all over me! Why hadn't I thought of bringing a change of clothes with me into the Labyrinth?

I just stood there, trying not to look up at him.

"Well?" he said at last.

Then I remembered my excuse.

"I've been with Rika-chan."

"I called the shrine, and she said that you left her at five. _That was over two hours ago._" He placed a hand under my chin, not too forcefully, and turned my head so our eyes met. "What's going on, Shion?" he said. "And – is that _blood_ on your face?"

"What?" I laughed. "No, it can't be! It's just chilli sauce from the burger Rika gave me..."

"Shion," Satoshi said firmly. "I know you're lying." He shook his head and frowned. "Why can't you trust me? We promised we would always share everything with each other."

_Not this, Satoshi. I can't tell you this. You would hate me._

Satoshi sighed and changed tack. "Can't you see how much your silence is hurting me?" he said. "Shion, I _want_ to know what's troubling you. I want to share it with you, no matter what it is. Don't you understand that?"

I just shook my head. _Telling you the truth would only hurt you more. All these years, you've loved a demon and not a real person. It would break you to know that._

"Speak to me!" Satoshi cried. He was about to cry, I could see it in his eyes.

I slipped out of his grasp and ran. He yelled after me, but I ignored him. Damn – what if Kotone heard us? Such a gentle, fragile little soul, she frightened so easily. But I couldn't go to her, couldn't explain.

_What can I do, then? Maybe I should just go... get out of here, leave. If I stay here, I'll only bring more misery on everyone. I've played my part now; Satoko should be safe. I'm sorry, Satoshi. Perhaps one day you'll understand... you were always so understanding, so kind to me. I never deserved someone like you._

I ran into the entrance hall and stopped to get my breath back; I had no clear idea of where I was going. I just knew that I had to get out of the house, had to get away from Satoshi and his searching questions. Would I ever come back? I didn't know. Maybe Satoshi would call me, tell me that he forgave me and wanted me back no matter what. He always was much too kind.

_But it doesn't matter. Knowing that Satoko and Satoshi and my children are safe is all that matters. I would gladly die for them. I don't care about my own life any more._

I turned one last time to make sure that no-one was there, then set off towards the door. But I never reached it. I was halfway across the hall when I heard a key turn, and the door opened towards me. I stopped and stared. Mother, Father and Satoshi were in the house. Who else...

"Easy does it. We're safe now."

And Karen stepped into the doorway, slowly, pausing every few seconds to adjust her balance under the weight of her burden. A mop of golden hair – it was Satoko! Karen was carrying her slumped over her shoulder, one arm around her neck, her head turned down and rocking from side to side in a stupor. As they came closer, I saw that her clothes were torn, and stained with blood where a horrible gash ran down her side. But she was alive!

"Satoko!" I cried, running forward – and then I skidded to a halt, held back as if some kind of magnetic force were coming from Karen's glare and pushing me away.

"Stand out of the way," she said coldly.

"Um... I'll get help," I said in a fluster. I had to do something! I tried to step forward to help Karen carry Satoko, but her glare held me back again. _Why can't I take her?_ No – explanations could wait. I ran back into the hall and screamed out, "Satoshi!", not caring who else heard.

A husky cough announced that Gorou had emerged from the dining room. "What is the matter, Shion-san?" he said.

"Gorou!" I said with relief. "Thank Oyashiro-sama. Satoko's found, but she needs help. Will you –" I stopped. Gorou, with his usual efficiency, was already lifting Satoko from Karen's shoulders. The two of them carried her across the hall and sat her down on a chair.

"See to her wounds," he said. "I'll call Irie-sensei."

He stepped away. I hurried over towards her –

"He didn't mean you. Get away!" Karen said as she knelt down by Satoko. She dabbed away the blood with her handkerchief, and then took out a strip of fabric, I didn't see from where, and bandaged the wound. And I could do nothing but stand there, while Satoko was in pain!

"Why?" I burst out. "Why are you being so hostile, Karen? What have I done?"

"You can ask," Karen said bitterly. "After I got your text, I went to Uncle Hiroshi's house at once. When I arrived, the whole house was in flames. All the village was roused and they were trying to put it out, but no-one dared to go inside."

"What!" I cried. "And... Satoko...?"

"She's bloody lucky I was in time to save her."

"Th... thank you, Karen," I sobbed.

"Save your thanks," she said sharply. "I know what _your_ game is. Could you try to make it a little less obvious? Get rid of Hiroshi, get me to do the dirty work and save Satoko. And what about the rest of the family? Did you even think of them?"

I felt, again, as though my stomach were about to cave in. "What about them?"

Karen didn't even look round.

"They never came out. All three of them – Yumi and the kids. I found Yumi when I was inside, but I'm pretty sure she was already dead. I don't know for sure, but I had to save Satoko." She shuddered; she'd been holding back too long, and the tears were about to flow in full spate. "As for the kids – there was a wall of fire and smoke covering the stairs. No-one could have saved them." Suddenly, she lifted herself up and rounded on me. "_How could you do such a thing, Shion?_"

I just stood and stared. I couldn't take this in, couldn't understand what she was saying. I tried to ask her to explain, but the words dried up in my mouth. And then, as though they were zombies rising from their graves, I became aware of the silent forms of the Sonozakis standing around me – Satoshi, Mion, Mother and Father, Gorou and the servants – all looking at me with an expression of horror etched deep onto their faces.

I looked around at them. I don't know what I was hoping to see. But nothing changed.

I screamed, pushed past Karen, and ran out of the house.


	31. Part II Ch 14 The Crimson Sword

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**14  
>The Crimson Sword<strong>

I didn't stop running until I reached the fence. There was a gap here, well concealed under the shadow of the spreading branches of an oak: it was one of the secret ways out of the Manor that Mion and I had known about since we were kids. It gave us the freedom to slip away and run and play in the forest – and came in very handy for taking each other's places. But now I was only thinking about getting away from the house without being seen. It was a dark night, with thick clouds hiding the moon, and once I was away from the Manor and into the forest, I knew there would be no hope of anyone finding me.

And then – well, I had no idea what I was going to do. What _could_ I do? Yumi was dead. So were her children – I couldn't even remember their names. I hadn't intended it to happen. But it was still my fault! This was the work of the Demon I had set on the family, I was sure of it. No-one else had a motive. I'd told the Demon to deal with Hiroshi, but not said anything about _how_ to do it, not been careful to specify that he should hurt no-one else. And now they were all dead, and there was nothing that could be done. True, I'd only met Yumi once, the kids never, but that didn't matter. They were innocent lives. I'd been a teacher long enough to have an instinctive desire to protect children. To me, harming a child is the worst of all crimes. And yet – why wasn't I feeling more guilt? I was shocked, yes. Terrified. But I knew that if anyone _else_ had done this, I'd have shown no mercy, I'd have gone straight round and made sure they suffered an appropriate length of agony before they died. Why wasn't I doing that to myself? I deserved it just the same.

I seized on the first answer that came to me, like a drowning man clutching at straws. I couldn't stop now. I couldn't undo what I'd done, but I _had_ to destroy the Black Demon before it took any more lives. It had crossed a boundary by killing someone it hadn't been told to kill. There was no trusting such a creature; it might turn on anyone next. I had to get rid of it.

But how? Only Rika might know. I would go back to her; the shrine was on the edge of Hinamizawa, and I could get there through the woods without having to go back into the village. I stumbled through the trees; my wound from the summoning ritual stung horribly when the branches swiped at it. Would the others guess I would go to the shrine, and cut me off? Perhaps. More likely, considering they saw me as a fugitive murderer, they would assume I was running away from Hinamizawa altogether, and would keep watch on the road to Okinomiya. So it was likely enough that Rika's place was safe for now. Satoko would tell Rika... no, she would be resting in the Irie clinic, and maybe the others wouldn't even have told her the news, as she needed time to recuperate. So I had enough time.

I pressed on through the woods. I knew them so well, from all the exploring we did when we were children, that I could find my way even in the dark. Soon enough, the lights of the shrine precinct came into view ahead of me. I crouched low and crept forward, keeping a careful eye out. But it seemed there was no-one around. I decided to risk it. Taking a deep breath, I jumped up and ran forward to the side door into the antechamber next to the prayer room, and knocked.

A cough came from within, then Rika's voice: "It's unlocked."

This proved to be the case. I let myself in, opened the sliding door to the prayer room, and gasped.

Rika was seated in front of the ceremonial fire, her hands clasped together, her eyes constantly blinking. Her head rocked gently back and forth as if in a trance, and if she hadn't just spoken, I might have assumed she had fallen asleep where she sat. She certainly looked like she was in danger of doing so at any minute. I rushed over to her and knelt by her side. I wanted to hold her, but I paused. _Had_ someone told her the news? But she showed no sign of fear. I placed one arm gently around her, and rested my head on her shoulder and sobbed.

"Shion-chan!" she said in a tone of surprise. "I didn't expect to see you back here... what's wrong, Shion-chan, what's happened?"

I couldn't manage to speak through my tears.

"Hush, it's all right," said Rika. "You don't need to say anything. Just let the tears flow as much as you like."

I stayed there, holding her, for a long time; but at last I knew I had to get it out.

"Rika-chan, something horrible has happened," I said. "Uncle Hiroshi has..." I stopped and shook my head. No, I couldn't tell only half the tale; I had to admit my own responsibility. "What I mean is, I summoned the Black Demon. I thought it was the only way I could rescue Satoko from Uncle Hiroshi's clutches. I told it... I told it to kill Hiroshi. I just didn't expect..."

Rika, rather awkwardly, managed to turn round enough that she could reach out a hand and place it on my waist to support me. She was shocked, of course, but not horrified. If anything, the look in her eyes was one of pity. "What happened, Shion-chan?" she said again.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't meet her gaze. I didn't want to see her pity; even worse, I couldn't bear to watch the moment when that pity was replaced by hate as she learned the truth. "The Demon set fire to Hiroshi's house. Hiroshi died, and Karen saved Satoko..." I took a series of sharp breaths. "Masashi's wife Yumi also died, and so did their children. They were completely innocent, Rika, and I killed them!"

"Oh, _Shion_..."

I felt her touch tighten as she pulled me into an awkward embrace. I couldn't believe it. She really didn't hate me?

Cautiously, I opened one eye. Rika was smiling sadly at me. "You didn't kill them, Shion-chan," she said. "What happened is a horrible tragedy, but you mustn't blame yourself."

"But... it _is_ my fault... I unleashed the Demon on them..."

"You didn't know what it was going to do," Rika said firmly. "I know you well enough to know that."

"But... but aren't you mad at me for talking to the Demon in the first place?" I cried. "You're a priestess of Oyashiro-sama, and I've been meddling in black magic... I'm _unclean_..."

"Not to me," Rika said as she squeezed me tightly. "It's my business to forgive your sins. Remember that."

I sobbed as her words brought so much back to me. Nightmares, vivid enough to be memories, of stabbing Satoko again and again until her heart finally stopped. Some trivial upset, I couldn't even remember what it had been, had made me lose myself so much that I actually stood there and laughed as I relished the pain I was inflicting on her. Satoko, who is like a sister to me. And yet Rika, who loves Satoko as much as I do, had told me I was forgiven, had helped me learn to live with the nightmares until at last they stopped haunting me.

I looked up at Rika, and at once flinched back. For a moment, it was as though a demon stared at me through Rika's face. A fire flickered behind her eyes, and her smile was twisted into a cruel leer. I had seen her looking like that once before... but no, that was only my demon making me see her like that! Sweet, gentle Rika could not possibly have such a dark side to her.

"Shion?" Rika said quietly. "Shion!"

I was sweating and shaking. I took a deep breath and made my eyes focus. I _knew_ I just needed to calm down, and I would see Rika's normal face again, friendly and concerned.

"I'm sorry, Rika-chan," I said. "I think I'm seeing demons everywhere..."

"You mustn't let them take control," she said. "I _know_ you have the strength to fight off this demon. You did once before, didn't you?"

"Rika-chan, I..." I shook my head, closed my eyes and screwed up my face. I _had_ to stop myself remembering. I knew exactly when I had seen Rika looking like that before; the shrine vanished, and the scene replayed itself around me. We had been fighting, and I must have slipped, and she was crawling towards me, sneering down at me as she savoured her victory. She held a syringe above me, and in that moment I knew that if I let her strike me, I would be powerless. And so I had done the only thing I could: I had given in and let the demon take control...

_No. That's the one thing I must not do now. I mustn't give in._

And I was back in the shrine again.

"It's all right, Shion-chan," said Rika. "We can fight this together."

"But – the Black Demon!" I cried. "Rika-chan, I should have remembered from last time – it acts by taking control of me! Does that mean – it was actually _me_ who set the fire?"

"No," Rika said quickly. "Shion-chan, do you _remember_ going to Hiroshi's house and setting it on fire?"

"No," I said. "But... if the demon had possessed me, I wouldn't, would I?"

"Do you remember any part of the journey there or back? Or even just a feeling as if you'd suddenly woken up and didn't know where you were?"

"Well, no," I said. "But... I guess I could have done it. I don't remember enough to fill up the time, if that makes sense. It's just so hard to put everything together."

"That's just a natural effect of the shock," said Rika.

"You... you really think so?"

"I'm sure of it," she said calmly. She leant closer towards me and put her arm further round me; and this time I did not flinch away. "You're not possessed. You're the same strong Shion you've always been."

"But, Rika-chan," I said, "even if I didn't kill them myself, they're still dead because of what I did."

"I know," said Rika. "It's a terrible tragedy. But it doesn't make you a bad person, Shion. You never _wanted_ this to happen. You mustn't punish yourself so much."

"Then... what should I do?"

"We must exorcise the demon," Rika said firmly.

I took a deep breath. "Rika-chan... you can do that?"

She smiled. "It's part of my job. You know that."

"But – how?"

Rika considered for a while. "The best way is to trap the demon so it can't return to haunt you again," she said. "But this demon is ancient and wily; we can't expect it to fall for any simple traps. Shion-chan, are you prepared to be brave and confront it face to face?"

"Of course I am!" I said. "Rika-chan, I've _got_ to stop it before it hurts anyone else!" I shuddered. "I never told it to kill Yumi and the children. It could hurt _anyone_ now."

Rika nodded. "We shall have to act at once," she said. "Lift me, Shion-chan."

I helped her to her feet – a little too quickly. She wobbled, and for a moment it seemed she was about to lurch and fall over. I held her steady, and she trembled and then smiled at me.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," I said at once. "I'm sorry to be making such demands on you."

"It's fine," she said. "I've dedicated my life to the fight against evil, and I can't take time off from that, baby or no baby."

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"To the Saiguden. Hand me the bunch of keys on the wall there."

I gave Rika the keys, and we left the shrine together. She was trying to move much faster than was good for her in her condition, and I had to keep a tight hold of her arm to hold her back. The night over Hinamizawa was pitch-black now, but the precinct around the shrine was a little fortress of light. The Saiguden was just on the boundary – the near wall lit by a fitful haze, the rest of the building in darkness. I hesitated.

Rika glanced round. "Shion-chan, are you all right?"

"I'm just..." I shook my head. "Just remembering the last time I went into the Saiguden..."

The darkness didn't help. I couldn't stop images coming into my mind as the sight of the building stirred up memories that had lain undisturbed for years. I heard the vivid creak of the door as we crouched together in the darkness, knowing we had no right to be there, dreadfully afraid in case the noise should awaken the guardians of the shrine and bring their wrath down on our heads. I saw again the first shaft of light trickling into the room, and the things it illuminated. A rack of sharp spikes on which sacrifices had once been laid out and cut open. The statue of Oyashiro-sama himself, his golden chest reflecting the light so well that he seemed to glimmer of his own power. The shifting shadows that gave us an unshakable feeling that someone was out there, _watching_... and then the footsteps had begun...

Rika slipped her hand into mine. "It's all right, Shion," she said. "I know what you're thinking about. But you're with me now."

She stepped forward and opened the padlock, a comically large one with several bars that clanked and clattered as they twisted to release the door. Then she pulled it open with a long, shuddering creak.

The inside of the Saiguden had changed little in all those years. It had just slowly gathered more dust, which rose in a spiralling river where the light fell upon it. I could see little of the rest of the room, but a few points of light glimmered in the darkness and told me that the spikes were still there, and still sharp. I could not see Oyashiro-sama yet, but somehow, I knew at once that he was still there, watching, with those empty eyes that were so used to darkness that they needed no light to see every movement in the room...

Rika was no longer at my side.

I swivelled round. Where had she gone? I couldn't see her at all! Just a patch of shadow, a scraping noise and a thud followed by a hollow echo.

And then the footsteps began.

"_Rika!_" I screamed.

"I'm over here," she said. "Just making some light." There was a harsh scrape, and a flame flickered into life, just enough to illuminate her face.

"You scared me half to death," I said through gritted teeth. "Was it _really_ not possible to bring an electric torch?"

Rika smiled and lit a candle. "Oyashiro-sama prefers that we do things traditionally."

I took a series of sharp breaths to calm myself down again, and Rika waddled over to me and led me across the room to the statue. Oyashiro-sama cut an imposing figure in the candlelight, his features stern and judgemental. I tensed, and bowed my head. The statue, of course, remained unmoving. It was silly of me, I know, but somehow that helped me to relax; I knew his anger was not directed at me. The great red sword, the Onigari-no-Ryuuou, lay across his lap, and his hand was loosely around the hilt, ready to grasp it and carry out his judgement.

Rika bent her knees just enough that she could reach down and touch it. "You know what this is, don't you?"

I nodded. "The sacred demon-killing sword."

Rika ran a finger reverently along the blade. "In ancient times, the people of Onigafuchi were at war with the demons, and beset on all sides by paranoia and betrayal. It was then that Hanyuu took the sins of the people upon herself and made her daughter – my ancestor Furude Ouka – sacrifice her with this sword," she said. "Though of course, this is just a replica."

"A replica?" I could not keep back a note of disappointment.

Rika laughed. "Of course it is! What did you expect? The Onigari-no-Ryuuou is the village's most sacred treasure. The Saiguden is always locked, and protected by tradition and superstition, but you know that it has been broken into..."

I shivered. "Rika-chan, is this... I mean, are you trying to say that what happened..."

"...is a punishment?" said Rika. "Not at all. Oyashiro-sama forgave you a long time ago, when you faced your sins for yourself and then joined the fight against Takano."

I shook my head. "But now my demon has risen again..."

"This time it will be different," Rika said firmly. "This time you did the right thing and came to me at once. We will fight the demon together."

I looked at the sword, and then up at the face of Oyashiro-sama. "With the replica sword?"

"No, with the real one."

I held my breath, and slowly turned my head round towards Rika. "The _real_ one?"

She smiled sweetly. "Of course. You didn't think we would lose it, when protecting it has been the duty of the Furude family since as far back as our history goes!"

"Even so," I said slowly. "You really still have it? After... it must be a thousand years?"

"After all this time. It's kept safe in the crypt, right below where we're standing."

"Wow." I blinked several times. "I never even knew there _was_ a crypt!"

"Only the heads of the three Great Families know about it," said Rika. "After my parents' deaths, Kimiyoshi-san kept the keys to pass on to me when I reached adulthood."

"The three Great Families?" I echoed. "Then... Oni-baba also knows about it?"

"Certainly. After all, the crypt can be entered through the Sonozaki Labyrinth."

"Then why did she never say anything to me or Mion?" I said through gritted teeth.

Rika gently touched my hand. "It is a secret that can only be handed on when the head of the family dies, Shion-chan," she said. "Below the crypt is the Undershrine, the most holy place in the village. Even I am forbidden to tread there. It can only be entered when Hinamizawa is in its greatest peril."

I took a deep breath. "Then – why are you telling me all this now?"

"But you know that, Shion-chan. I can't go down into the crypt in my current condition. You must go down and retrieve the sword."

"_I_ must?"

"Don't worry. It won't be difficult. And you must not be afraid. Oyashiro-sama loves you."

She gripped my hand tightly, and I felt her strength flowing into me. "All right," I said. "I trust you, Rika-chan. But... how do I get in?"

Rika took the replica sword and slid it from Oyashiro-sama's grasp, uncovering his belly-button. She reached down and pressed this in. There was a harsh scraping sound coming from somewhere below the room. It grew louder, and the room shook a little. I found myself clutching tightly onto Rika, as if I were worried the floor was about to give way under me. Then the plinth supporting the statue started to grind its way across the floor, revealing a trapdoor beneath.

"That... that's it?" I said at last.

"That's it. Will you unlock it? I have the key here, and there's a ladder against that wall. You can take the lantern; I don't mind being in the dark."

I opened the trapdoor, lowered the ladder down and wobbled it about a bit to make sure it was steady, and took the lantern from Rika. I gave her an uneasy smile to ask her whether she was _really_ all right about being left in the dark in a place like this. All around us were the gruesome reminders of Hinamizawa's past; but I suppose that Rika was so used to living among them that they no longer horrified her. Rika just smiled back, as sweetly as if nothing at all had happened and we were just enjoying a picnic together. After that, how could I refuse to go on? I stepped down onto the top rung, shifted to make sure it would support my weight, and then went on down, one careful step at a time, until I was stopped by the sudden touch of the ground below me.

The crypt was pitch black except for the haze around the lantern, which illuminated the space for a short distance in front of me and then faded. I held it at arm's length and looked around, taking note of where the walls and pillars were. I was close to one wall, and as I held the lantern towards it, a glint of gold came back in reply. Some kind of ornament hanging on the wall? I was curious, and stepped towards it. No – as I came closer I saw that it was a colossal box, almost a sarcophagus, standing against the wall. It was made of iron, and the lid was covered with a delicate tracing of gold thread, forming figures that looked like demons and dragons swirling about in a hypnotic dance. My eye was caught and drawn in, and found myself following the curve as it knotted around itself, until I started to feel dizzy. Then I remembered why I was there, and forced myself to snap out of it. I crept around the edge of the box, and found another box lying beyond it, and then another, and another... the line of boxes paused to make room for an arch holding up the ceiling, and then continued. Was there no end to this chamber? I glanced behind me, and held the lantern at arm's length. I was already so far in that I could no longer see the ladder I had come down by.

I sighed. Why couldn't Rika have warned me the crypt was so large? Still, now that I was down here, I may as well just carry on and try to find the wretched sword. I kept on walking down the line, looking all the time from side to side in case it was hanging on the wall; the air was thick and dusty, and I found myself spluttering. I stopped and leant against the wall for a moment; the rock was soft and damp, and it felt like something sticky was leeching off it and grabbing hold of me. I quickly pulled my hand away.

Then, from somewhere in the darkness, I heard the sound of footsteps. A soft thud, then a pause, and then another. They were coming closer.

I turned slowly round and held out the lantern. "Wh.. who's there?"

There was no response, and the footsteps stopped.

I shook my head. Probably just my overactive imagination. It was all too easy to understand why too much time in a place like this could make one think that...

Never mind. I hurried on; at last the line of boxes came to an end, and I had reached the far wall of the crypt. This was a flat stone wall, and several curious implements were arranged along it. Much as I wanted to get out, I knew I would probably never come down here again, and so I moved in to take a closer look. Right in front of me was a long golden staff, surmounted by an orb encircled by several winding bands. It was beautiful, but... I had to find the sword!

I turned and went along the wall, going as quickly as I could, though I could not help running a fascinated eye over everything that was hanging on it. There were rods and tridents and orbs, and they looked like they might have been beautiful if only there were given a polish and placed where the light could play across them. Why, then, were they left to gather dust, here in the darkness where no-one ever came? There were swords, too, though none of them matched the description Rika had given me. I spotted one with a crimson blade, and briefly stopped to look at it – but it was not the one, I knew that at once.

_There it was again!_ As soon as I stopped moving, I could hear the footsteps again. Someone was between me and the ladder, trying to cut me off, I was sure of it! Instinctively, I reached towards the sword... but then I shook my head. This was nonsense. Rika would not let anyone else enter the crypt. Besides, the weapon would surely be too rusty to use. I hurried on. I just wanted to find the sword and get out of here! Unmistakably, the footsteps increased their pace too.

Then I felt a sudden twitch on my left arm, as though someone had just tugged at it. I turned slightly in that direction, and peered into the darkness. There, on the wall in front of me, were two crossed staves topped with golden crowns, a scythe with a long, sharp blade, and –

That _had_ to be it! The Onigari-no-Ryuuou was just as Rika had described it: a blade that seemed to be carved from solid fire. It was almost translucent. I stepped closer. The footsteps seemed to have stopped. Breathing deeply, I stretched out a hand and touched the hilt of the sword. It was solid enough. I grasped it; the hilt sat snugly in my hand, and the sword slipped effortlessly from the wall, as if nothing had been holding it in place. I had got it!

I span round, holding the sword out in front of me, pointing towards where the footsteps had last sounded. The blade was gleaming with a light of its own. I laughed. Whoever it had been, they were keeping well out of my way now! Instead of keeping to the walls, I cut straight across the floor towards the ladder, or at least, my best guess as to the direction the ladder was in. There were no more footsteps.

"Are you still there?" I hissed. "Come out and face me, if you dare!"

"Shion-chan!" Rika called out from above. "Are you all right down there?"

Hearing her voice again was like feeling sunlight flooding into the chamber. I almost ran towards the sound. There was the ladder, in a faint patch of light. I took one last look around. There was no-one there, no more sound, nothing. If there _was_ anyone down here with me, I would leave them shut up in this place and see how they liked it! It would be difficult to ascend the ladder carrying both the sword and the lantern, so I lifted the sword up first, and Rika hauled it up. Then I fairly leapt up the ladder, slammed the trapdoor back into place, and locked it again.

I took a deep breath of delicious fresh air, and turned to Rika and grinned.


	32. Part II Ch 15 I Attack the Darkness

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**15  
>I Attack the Darkness<strong>

Rika smiled back at me, and seeing her sweet face again was like balm to my spirit.

"Well done, Shion-chan," she said simply.

I leant back against the wall, taking in deep lungfuls of air as though I had never tasted anything so sweet before.

"Are you all right?" Rika asked.

"I'm okay," I heaved. "Rika – you don't think there was really anyone else down there?"

She shook her head. "Impossible. As I said, the only other entrance is through the Labyrinth, and only Oryou-sama herself knows the route to that entrance and has a key to it."

I wasn't entirely convinced by this, but I let the point drop. If there _was_ an intruder down there, it would serve them right to be trapped there until they died from lack of oxygen!

"So what do I do now?" I said.

"You must be brave, Shion-chan. You must confront the demon."

She held the hilt of the sword out towards me, with an earnest look in her eyes.

"If I go back to the Manor... will it be there, waiting for me?"

"I think so. It is a Sonozaki family demon. Its purpose in life is to confront you, to exact the penalty for the contract your ancestor made with it."

I took the sword, and kept close by Rika's side as she made her slow way towards the door.

"But, Rika-chan..."

"Yes?" she said gently.

"The penalty... isn't it something I have to pay anyway?"

Rika sighed. "You mustn't think like that, Shion-chan! Your destiny can't be decided by what your ancestor did. You have the power to shape your own fate! The contract has no validity unless _you_ decide to renew it for yourself."

We were outside. A cool night breeze stroked my face, and just for a moment, I felt that things were going to be all right again. The heavy door of the Saiguden thudded behind us, and Rika closed the padlock with a resounding clang.

"But, Rika-chan," I persisted, "didn't I already do that?"

"You did not tell the demon to attack Hiroshi's family," she said firmly.

We set off together back towards the shrine, in silence. Then Rika stopped to catch her breath, and I stopped too. She looked up at me with an anxious frown.

"Shion-chan, there's something bothering you..."

"Yeah," I said.

"Talk to me." She leant towards me and took my arm.

I gulped. But she was holding me just firmly enough that I knew I wouldn't get away.

"Well... I think... I may have _wished_ it to attack them, subconsciously," I mumbled. "I was so angry with Hiroshi..."

"_No,_" Rika said with vehemence. "Shion-chan, it doesn't work like that. You are not responsible for their deaths. You have to believe in yourself."

"I'll try," I said. "But it's so difficult... when I know there's such darkness within me..."

Rika tightened her grip. It was hard to believe how much strength she had sometimes.

"You're thinking about what happened twenty years ago, aren't you?" she said.

"Of course." I pressed her against my side, as if I were worried she was about to vanish into the darkness. "What I did back then... Rika-chan, I even killed _you_, when you were just a child, when anyone should have known you had nothing to do with Satoshi's disappearance –"

"I forgave you a long time ago," said Rika. "Remember, you proved your worth, not just in the battle, but even more than that, in the way you took care of Satoko-chan for so long."

I sighed. Rika was just too sweet; she always insisted on seeing the best in everything. And sometimes that just didn't help, because I _knew_ there was more to be said. She could forgive my sins, but she couldn't erase them.

"I wonder if we can ever escape from those shadows," I said.

"Perhaps not," said Rika. "It is seldom good to forget the past completely. But we have to live in the present, all the same."

I shook my head. "My family have been in the grip of the past far too long."

"Are you thinking of Oryou-sama?" said Rika. "That is often the way of the very old. But the care that you and Satoshi-kun take over her keeps the shadows away."

"Not just her. Nee-chan..."

Rika sniffed. "I know. Such a terrible tragedy. It's been unbearable, for all of us, to see someone so good, someone we all love so much, suffering like that. I've tried my best to help her – we all have, I'm sure – but this is beyond my power. It's not a demon that is eating away at Mion. Just the shadow of what might have been, hovering above her head and blocking out the light, but always just out of reach."

I felt my head drooping in despair. "Is there nothing we can do for her?"

"I know you're doing your best, Shion-chan."

We had reached the main building of the shrine. She released my arm, and I lifted myself up. I held the hilt of the sword in a firm grip, twisting my fingers round it to get a feel for the way it balanced. If I moved in harmony with its natural flow, it barely seemed to weigh anything.

"Right," I said, taking a deep breath. "I'll leave you here, then. Rika-chan... thank you."

She nodded. "I'll be inside, waiting to hear the news of your success."

I gave her a wan smile, and tried out a few passes. There was a loud swoosh as the sword flicked through the air, and the stillness was broken when some night bird, startled by the sound, burst out cawing and fluttered away into the darkness. I left Rika and ran into the woods.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, the Manor came into view ahead of me. I could not go back to the main entrance; even if the others hadn't remained standing around all this time, it was too likely there would still be someone there. Would they already have contacted Kumagai? Would the grounds be swarming with policemen, watching and waiting for me to come back? Or would Mother have persuaded the others to delay a while, to give me time to do the honourable thing and exile myself from the village, never to return?<p>

No matter. There was an entrance to the Labyrinth close by, hidden in the forest so that if the Manor were ever to be under siege, we would have a way out that would be hard for the enemy to find. Indeed, it took me longer than I expected to find it; I hadn't used this entrance for years. There was a little rise in the ground, and, almost invisible unless you were looking for it, a crack in the stones just wide enough for a person to slip through. This led to a narrow cavern, and if you felt your way to the back, you would run into a wall and conclude it went no further back. But there _was_ a way round the wall, and it led to a long flight of stairs. There was no light at all, but I didn't need any; the stairs were smooth and regular, and I knew them well enough to feel at home.

At the bottom of the stairs was a metal door – locked, of course, but I had the key. It led to a long tunnel that sloped downwards as it snaked its way towards the Manor. I crept forward carefully. If Mion, for one, guessed that I was coming back to the Manor, she would expect me to take this way. The cellar would certainly be guarded. But we had played hide-and-seek in these tunnels ever since we were children, and I knew many ways to get around. I slipped into a small side tunnel and crawled onwards, as the ceiling was too low to stand upright. Surely this passage hadn't been quite so cramped last time I came through here? Rocks dug into my skin, and dust filled up my throat. Still, I pressed on; I wasn't going to forget my way around here, not in a lot more than twenty years!

I came at last to the old well, and breathed in deeply. The air here still smelled foul, but at least it no longer choked me with every breath. I clambered up the ladder, and through the narrow passage that led to the ancient torture chamber. The grating that blocked off the end of the passage from the cell beyond was closed, of course, but there was a little wheel that wound up a chain that opened it. I always took care to make sure the mechanism remained in working order.

And there I was, in the very room where, all those years ago, I had tied Satoko to a cross and made Mion watch as I tortured her. How fitting that it should be here that we met at last, my demon and I. Here, where I had once awakened my dark side and let it overpower me, I would defeat it once and for all. For no sooner had I stepped into the room than the door opposite closed with a heavy clang. At first it looked as if no-one was there, but a mist was spreading outwards from the door, until that side of the room was shrouded in darkness. I held up the Onigari-no-Ryuuou, and at once it started to gleam with a fierce red light; but it was not a warm light, it was a light that was turned inwards as though burning itself up from within. At once, two red points appeared in the mist, flickering. The eyes of the demon, watching me, coming closer.

"Black Demon!" I called out. I stepped forward, carefully holding the sword in front of me. I twisted the point in a small circle, showing the demon that I knew how to control it.

The eyes stopped moving. But the mist still billowed out, growing darker, lying in swathes around the demon. For a moment, its eyes disappeared; then they flashed again, and I heard it laugh. It was a slow, rumbling laugh – the laugh of a creature who had almost forgotten how.

"Stop where you are!" I cried. "I am Sonozaki Shion, your rightful master!"

_Does it speak at all? I suppose... that laugh was so human-like, I think it must..._

"Rightful?" it growled. Its voice was deep and grainy. "What right have you to command me?"

"The right of direct descent from Sonozaki Mao-sama, who first contracted with you," I retorted. I looked it straight in the eyes. _The important thing is not to show any sign of weakness._

"You? You are not the Sonozaki heir," the demon said scornfully. "You gave up your birthright to your twin sister, did you not?"

"What!" I gasped. _It can't mean... it obeys only Mion? But she would never have ordered it to burn Hiroshi's house, any more than I would have done! Besides, how could she know that I had summoned it?_

_ No, I'm reading too much into this. It just means it's refusing to obey me. Well, we'll see about that._

"I may have done," I said, "but I am still a Sonozaki, and I will not allow you to defile our family's name!"

The demon made a sudden lurch towards me; its eyes blazed with anger, and a tongue of flame lashed out like a whip. Instinctively, I raised the sword to block it. There was a heavy clash of metal. Then I saw that the flame was just the light glinting on the sharp edge of the blade of some long weapon, like a naginata. I have some experience in naginata combat; it's part of the Sonozaki family training. Mion and I stopped practising when we were adults, though; Chiharu is the only one of our generation who kept it up. Still, I wasn't going to be so easily intimidated, just because it had a weapon. That had to be what it was trying to do; I was its master, it _couldn't_ fight me! I tensed, and pushed the sword against its blade, forcing it back.

It laughed again. "_You_ accuse _me_ of defiling the Sonozaki name? You have some nerve!"

I started to advance. Our blades clinked and ground against each other, sending sparks shimmering into the darkness. The mist was all around us now, clogging the air with a rank smell that made my throat itch.

"What about Hiroshi's house?" I cried. "You're the one who's responsible for that! What about Yumi-san and those innocent children?"

It snorted. I felt a sudden gust of fire on my chin. "And you think the Sonozaki family have never shed innocent blood before now?"

_Clash._

"It's not our way," I said firmly.

"That's a lie!" the demon roared. I had to fade back as a heavy stroke swiped through the air just in front of me. "Weren't you paying attention, all those times you took Mion's place in family meetings? You heard enough deaths planned, and you sat back and said nothing!"

"H... how do you know..."

The demon laughed. "Oh, I've always been here watching you, Sonozaki Shion. You shameless little hypocrite! Tell me" – it swung its blade towards me again, but this time I was ready, and our blades met with a long grinding clang – "if you'd heard the deaths of Masashi's family being planned, would you have spoken out for them?"

"Of course!" I stepped back and to the side, giving myself more room so that even when it lashed out at me, I could look it straight in the eyes. It was trying to make me angry, and I wasn't going to fall for it. "Yumi and the children were completely innocent! They weren't any threat!"

"That's what matters, isn't it?" the demon said. "And if they _had_ been a threat to the family, you'd have been happy to let them die?"

"I..." I faltered, just a little; and at once the demon was upon me, whirling its blade, trying to get in below my sword. I blocked, but the strength of the blow left my hands ringing.

_I nearly slipped there... I must stay calm! I must keep my concentration!_

"Stop twisting my words. They were _children_! Of course they're not a threat!"

But the demon knew that it had nearly got me. It was pressing strongly now, twisting its blade first one way, then the other, forcing me back. I blocked as well as I could, but it was a long time since I'd had any practice. Why was this happening? It wasn't supposed to be like this! It shouldn't have been able to argue back, let alone fight me!

Perhaps my best strategy was to use its aggression to my advantage – feign weakness and fade back, then wait for an opportunity and cut it down in one stroke? It would be risky. If it went wrong, I could easily end up trapped against the wall. For now, I just glared and held my ground.

"Oh yes?" said the demon. "Have you forgotten what you did in this very room to your friend Satoko, when she was just a child?"

_It knew about that? It really had been watching me the whole time!_

"That was different! I know what I did, but that was the influence of the Hinamizawa Syndrome. I would never really –"

_Clang._

"The Hinamizawa Syndrome merely amplifies the feelings you already have. It couldn't make you do anything that wasn't what you really _wanted_ to do, deep down."

"That's a lie!"

I cried out in pain as the blade of the naginata scored a deep gash in my upper arm. The demon leapt forward, knowing it had an opening. I twisted round and blocked – weakly, but enough to hold it back. My shoulder felt like I was holding it in a searing fire. I had to hold myself together! _I mustn't listen to it. It's just trying to make me angry. I came to terms with what I did a long time ago._ "How do you know so much about Hinamizawa Syndrome, anyway?" I snarled.

"I know more than you think." It spoke, and moved, with confidence, advancing in a zigzag. I had to swivel my sword in rapid circles, blocking first on one side, then the other. We were still shrouded in mist, but I could just see the blood spurting from my arm.

"I know the darkest secrets of your heart, Sonozaki Shion," it said. "I know how much you hate the family who rejected you. The grandmother you pretend to care for so patiently. Why can't she just hurry up and die? The squabbling uncles who continue to make your life a misery. So unfair, isn't it, that even after giving up your inheritance, you still can't get away from them? And your sister, who took away everything that should have been yours..."

"Ha!" I cried as I parried again. I had a chance now. It had gone too far, trying to hurt me with words that had no truth at all. Of course I cared about Oni-baba! And I loved Mion. I have _never_ resented her for taking over my position as heir; she was much better suited to it than I would ever have been. And if the demon was resorting to such crude tactics, that was a sign of weakness. With renewed confidence, I attempted my first counterthrust. I flicked the blade of the Onigari-no-Ryuuou horizontally towards its head, and it had to fall back and make a quick parry. Our blades scraped and fizzed. I had almost forgotten the pain in my arm now.

"You don't agree?" Damn, it was a good fighter. It kept blocking, and I just couldn't gain any ground. But I had to keep the initiative: thrust and thrust again, until it finally stumbled and missed one. "You always resented being the unfavourite, didn't you? You got no respect – Mion could have everything she wanted, but you had to tear off your own fingernails before the family would even let you have a boyfriend."

"That was all done with years ago," I countered.

"So it's true you felt that way!" The demon's eyes blazed, a fire so bright in the darkness that my eyes stung. For a moment I stood frozen, and had no time to react as a sharp blow struck my sword. My hands hurt so much that I almost let go, but I managed to hold.

"That was all done with years ago! We're all friends now!"

"But you can never entirely forget. Oryou never apologised, did she? Every time you see her, you can't help being reminded of what she did to you."

_Don't listen!_ It was true, of course; but that was just the Sonozaki stubbornness. It would have been foolish to expect Oni-baba to apologise.

"I don't have any hard feelings," I insisted. I tried a twisting motion, pushing its blade to the side. There had to be a way past it!

"Oh? And none against your sister, either? When you pretended to support her getting together with Keiichi –"

"I _did_ support them!" I roared, making a sudden lunge that caught the demon off guard. It was driving me to anger now, but it was anger of quite a different sort, and that was a bad mistake. I had done everything I could to support Mion and Keiichi! And the memory of everything I had gone through gave me a new strength. I was regaining some ground at last.

"You certainly made sure it looked that way. But really you wanted Mion to fail, and you took every chance you got to sabotage her, _didn't you_?"

"That's not true!" I cried. And my blade swept through the air just in front of the demon's eyes, and it let out a shriek of fear. _At last!_ If it was showing fear, that meant it was vulnerable after all.

"That incident with the chocolates –" It lashed out fiercely, and I had to tighten my grip to stop the sword flying from my hands.

"That was Satoko's idea!" I countered by twisting my sword out of the way of the blow, and striking at the demon's unprotected flank.

_Clink._

"And the Okinomiya Mario Kart tournament? Whose idea was that?"

I had found my rhythm now. A stroke to the left, then one high up on the right, and then as the demon lunged to block, I brought my sword round in a sweeping circle and slipped to the side. It couldn't move its blade fast enough to keep up with me.

"So I made a mistake. Anyone can do that. That doesn't mean I didn't support them!"

"And yet, you said nothing when the Sonozaki family _killed him_!"

_Crash._

"What?"

I was caught off guard again. Just when I had almost beaten the wretched thing, I found myself unable to press home my attack. My stroke weakened in mid-flight, and the demon struck my blade away with a resounding clang. My shoulder buckled as if it was about to split in half.

"That – that's just not true!" I clenched my teeth and twisted myself round and blocked.

"You know it is. You were there at that meeting."

_This won't do. I can't let it get the better of me, not now!_

"What meeting?" I screamed.

"Tsushima Shouichi asked the family to cover his expenses for a little trip to Tokyo. Ring any bells?"

Both my shoulders were aching, but I had to disregard it. I pushed forward again. If I could just get it back against the wall, I could still win this fight!

"That had nothing to do with Keiichi –"

"So you've blotted it from your memory. I suppose you had to. Even a first-class hypocrite like you couldn't go on pretending to care for your sister if you knew that you gave the order –"

"_It's a lie!_" And suddenly, with new strength that seemed to swell up in my arms out of nowhere, I pushed the naginata aside and swung my sword round, too fast for the demon to block, and drove it deep into the centre of the mist. Desperately, the demon twisted its weapon round and struck at me with the wooden pole, stunning me and pushing me back; but I knew I had hit it. The fire in its eyes dimmed and went out. It was still shrieking in the darkness, a high-pitched cry of shock as though it had never known pain before. I gripped the Onigari-no-Ryuuou tightly and lunged out once more. Its voice died away. The mist swirled around me. I choked and spluttered. My head was spinning, and my knees were giving way. I let myself drop heavily to the floor.

When I came to, I was huddled uncomfortably on the stone floor of the chamber. The mist and those fiery eyes were gone, and the Onigari-no-Ryuuou was dim and lifeless. My arms hurt like hell, and the air was heavy with the smell of blood. The room was dark and silent; there was no sign of how much time had passed. I reached out, picked up the sword again, and staggered to my feet. Not that I was afraid the demon might still be lurking. The whole atmosphere of the room had changed, and I knew that meant it was gone. Still, I couldn't just leave the sword; I had to finish this by holding it up with pride as I raised my eyes to heaven and thanked Oyashiro-sama.

There was a small window high above; and now that the mist had cleared, just enough light trickled through to glint off the blade and throw an aura around the room. And then I saw it. There was a vague shape between me and the door. I couldn't see what it was, but there was _something_ lying in a bundle on the ground. I walked slowly forward to get a better look.

A scrap of fabric. A skirt, crumpled haphazardly and dark with blood. The small fingers of a child's hand, stretched out as though they were reaching out to something in the darkness. My breath stopped. I knew what I was about to see even before I looked at the face – but I couldn't stop myself. And then I was gazing down on my daughter Kotone, her face disfigured by the blood that oozed from a gash in her forehead. Her left arm lay across her chest in a ghastly parody of that way she has of holding herself; and her mouth was half open, as if something had shocked her, and she had died while trying to let out a sound to express her surprise.


	33. Part II Ch 16 Silent Night

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**16  
>Silent Night<strong>

I don't know how much time passed; time didn't seem to mean anything any more. The sword lay on the floor, having slipped from my hand. The world was dark again. But there are some things that you don't need light to see. Kotone still lay in a heap where she had fallen, and I knew that if I looked towards her, I would only see again that look of agonising shock, as if she were trapped in time in that final moment, trying to let out a cry that would never come. _How could this have happened?_ She was my cheerful little girl, always smiling – it wasn't right, this wasn't her! Had the Black Demon somehow done this? Was _this_ its revenge, its method of exacting payment?

But that wasn't right. I'd defeated the Demon _before_ she appeared. What was she doing in the torture chamber anyway? This part of the Labyrinth was always kept locked, to make sure the children didn't stray down here. It's not that we're ashamed of our family's past – but there are some things that you can't explain to a young child. Especially a child as caring and sensitive as Kotone. The sight of some of our torture implements would give her nightmares for _years_. Some day, Mion and I always said, we would bring the children down here and show them everything, so they knew we weren't trying to keep secrets from them. But only when they were _both_ old enough.

That day would never come now.

But _why_? Why had she strayed here? She couldn't have come here alone. Someone must have brought her.

But there hadn't been anyone else here... no-one except me and the demon...

_No._

I refused to believe it. But... it made sense, in a way that no other conclusion did. I'd heard of such things, in the stories my family and the village elders handed down. Demons who could only take physical action by entering the body of a human and possessing them. Was the Black Demon one of these? Had I, myself, doomed Kotone when I gave it that command? With everything else going on, she could have disappeared for hours and no-one would have noticed. Could she have _walked_ to Takatsudo and back in the time? It was not impossible, if being possessed by the Demon gave her superhuman endurance. Everything fell into place.

Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself crouching on the floor, reaching out for the sword. I was consumed with anger: but not towards myself. There was no reason I should have known what I was doing. It was all Rika's fault! _She_ must have known the truth about the demon. Why hadn't she warned me? Why hadn't she told me that the only way to be rid of it was to kill my own daughter? If I'd known, then of course I would never have done it. Was that it? Had I been an unwitting pawn, and Kotone a sacrifice, in her plan to defeat the demon? _Why?_ Did she think that I deserved it, because I was the one who summoned the demon – or did we just not matter in the grand scheme of things? A demon was loose in the human world, and it _had_ to be destroyed by any means necessary.

I clambered back to my feet, holding the Onigari-no-Ryuuou out in front of me. The blade gleamed red: as red as my anger. Kotone's blood would not show on it. I screamed out Rika's name.

But no. She had cruelly betrayed me, but taking my anger out on her would not bring Kotone back. All that mattered now was to finish what I had started – to make sure that the demon was really destroyed once and for all. Then at least Kotone would not have died for nothing.

I stumbled towards the main door of the chamber. The demon had closed the door behind it before we began fighting, but it was open now. No time to think about what that meant. I heaved myself through it, and staggered into the tunnel that led back up towards the Manor. My shoulder felt like it was about to split in half, and blood still dripped from the wound in my other arm. But I no longer cared. All I lived for now was to finish my battle against the Black Demon.

But how was I going to find it?

My feet were driving me on, telling me that if I stopped for a moment, I would remember that I was in agony. But I had to think.

It should be over now. I had paid the penalty and fulfilled the contract. But with demons, you have to be _sure_. What if it had evaded that last stroke, departed from Kotone just before it connected? _Could_ it do that? I had no idea. I would just have to assume it was alive; then at least it couldn't catch me unawares.

Who would it target next, then? Rika was right about one thing: it was a Sonozaki family demon. It existed to fight me. It wouldn't run away; it would bait me, lure me into a confrontation. That meant it would continue to target the people I cared about. It had possessed Kotone, killed Masashi, and set fire to Hiroshi's house...

I stopped and fell against the wall, grinding my hands against the rock as if the pain could somehow help me to think. Something was wrong there; something didn't fit the pattern. Masashi was my cousin, but the demon had no reason to set fire to the house, kill Yumi and the children as well. They were almost strangers. I had _asked_ the demon why it killed them, but it had deflected the question. There had to be a clue there – something it didn't want me to realise.

Why else would it set fire to the house? Had someone else been –

Of course. _Satoko_ had been inside.

I ran through the tunnel as fast as I could go. The door at the far end stood open. Panting for breath, I crashed through into the back corridors of the Manor. The sudden change in the light stung my eyes. I felt dizzy. There was an undercurrent of sound coming from the direction of the main hall, but I couldn't separate out the voices. I wasn't consciously thinking about whether I wanted to go towards the sounds; I just wanted to get out of the house, anywhere but where I was.

As I stumbled into the hall, I heard Mother give a strangled gasp. "Sh... Shion!"

"Where's Satoko?" I cried.

"Shion, where have you been? What's happened to you? _Is that blood?_"

"Never mind me!" I made a sweeping gesture, inadvertently sending the sword in an arc in front of me. There was a high-pitched cry from over by the stairs – Karen, I knew without even having to look round. "Where's Satoko?"

"Shion, calm down!" Satoshi stepped hesitantly towards me. He was white as a sheet.

"I won't be calm until you tell me where Satoko is!"

"Why?" Karen snapped. "Do you want to kill her as well?"

"_Karen-chan!_" cried Mother.

"Well?" Karen snarled. "It's a reasonable question! She killed Yumi... and where did all that blood come from? What have you been doing down in the old torture chamber?"

Mother was sobbing. "Please, Karen, don't do this..."

Satoshi stared at me and trembled. "Shion," he said, "please tell me what's going on."

"You don't trust me?" I looked round, and my eyes lighted on Mion. "Sis, surely _you_ know you can trust me?"

Mion hurried over to put a comforting arm round Mother's shoulders. She turned her head towards me and frowned. "I don't know any more, Shion. I just don't."

"_Sis!_"

Karen advanced towards me from the side. "So, even your own twin won't defend you," she said. "Now, Shion, why don't you just drop the sword and settle this like adults?"

I couldn't take any more. I whirled round and lunged at Karen; not trying to hit her, but striking out to push her away from me. It didn't work, as I should have known. For a moment I thought the blade was about to hit her; then she disappeared as neatly as if she were a demon. I had no time to react. The next thing I knew was that she was holding me against the wall, and the tip of a shuriken tickled against my throat. She was so close in front of me that I could feel her breath. She snarled, showing two rows of spiky teeth. The rest of the room was a blur. The only clear sound was Mother screaming.

"Drop the sword," Karen said again.

"Or else what?" I managed to gasp out. It wasn't easy to breathe, with the shuriken so close to my skin. "Are you going to murder me, in my own house? Sis, tell her to get off me!"

"Karen-chan," Satoshi cut in, "perhaps you should step away..."

"The hell I will! Someone get that sword off her!"

Mion helped Mother to a seat, and then stepped forwards with grim determination.

So they had all turned against me. I couldn't count on any of them any more. I'd have to do this on my own.

I pulled my taser out of my pocket with my free hand, and turned it towards Karen. I didn't need to look down; the movement was automatic. Besides, that would have given the game away. She shuddered as the shock struck her; the shuriken slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. Her fingers flexed as though she was trying to reach out and grab me by the neck, but her hand stopped moving as her strength gave way.

Mion leapt forward, and then stopped, unsure of whether to help Karen or go for my sword. Then Karen stiffened as she lost control; her head tilted up, her eyes rolled back and her mouth fell open, and Mion jumped out to catch her as she fell.

I tightened my grip on the sword and ran past them, ignoring Mion's furious cries.

And then I slid to a halt. Satoshi stood in the doorway, his arms spread out to block me. His mouth was tightly shut, as if he was fighting back some strong emotion.

"Let me past," I said coldly.

"Not if you're going to hurt Satoko."

"_Hurt_ her?" I cried. "I'm trying to protect her!"

"From what?"

"The Black Demon. I know it's after Satoko – that was why it burnt Hiroshi's house, because she was inside..."

Satoshi just stared. "What on earth are you babbling about?"

"_Why can't you just trust me?_" I screamed. "We promised we'd always trust each other!"

I could hear movement behind me. Either Mion or Karen was getting up. I didn't have much time.

"How can I trust you when you're acting like this?" said Satoshi. "Something's come over you, Shion. You're not yourself. I don't know, but perhaps your Hinamizawa Syndrome..."

"Don't you dare say that!" I cried. "Listen to me, Satoshi – this is all a set-up! I have to get to Satoko... the demon could be attacking her right this minute!"

"Don't let her past, Satoshi!" Mion called out.

"_Get out of my way!_" I roared. I swung the Onigari-no-Ryuuou into position in front of me, and strode forward.

Satoshi closed his eyes and shook his head. "Shion," he said quietly, "if you just put the sword down and stay here, Mion can go to the shrine and look after Satoko. But I can't let you out. Sorry, Shion... it's not that I don't trust you... but I can't let anything happen to my sister. Cut me down if you like, but I'm not moving."

I glanced behind me. Mion had laid Karen carefully down, and was advancing towards me. For a moment, I was tempted by Satoshi's offer. It made sense. Mion could take the sword and go in my place. If Satoko really was at the shrine, as Satoshi had implied, then Rika would be able to explain everything, tell Mion about the demon, so that she knew what she had to do to exorcise it. I could just stay here –

But no. If I stayed, the police would come and take me. After what I'd done to Karen, she would summon them for certain as soon as she regained consciousness; and if she didn't, then Mother would once she recovered from her shock. Karen would accuse me of burning Hiroshi's house, and I couldn't prove my innocence. As for the stolid, unimaginative Kumagai, he would never listen to any explanation involving demons. I'd be locked up, and if Mion failed, there would be nothing more I could do – I wouldn't even be able to find out what happened. Besides – in every moment of stillness, I still saw in front of me Kotone's helpless face, her eyes wide and empty, blood trickling over her cheek. And I knew that I had to destroy the Black Demon myself.

I ran towards Satoshi, who still stood in the doorway, motionless. At the last moment I whirled the sword around so that it was the hilt that struck him; he recoiled from the blow, and I slipped past and ran towards the front door. It was unlocked. I threw it open, and didn't stop running until I was well outside the Manor's grounds.

It was deep into the night. A convoy of dark clouds drifted past above me, masking the moon so that its light dimmed and brightened in alternation. No-one was around, and there were no sounds except for the pounding of my heart and the shaking of the distant trees in the wind. There were very few lights in the village, but a dull red glow came from the direction of the shrine. I quickened my pace. It was not the bright glow of fire; but I knew that it meant nothing good.

I stopped under the torii, and looked ahead. All was dark, except for a red shimmer that seemed to permeate the air without coming from anywhere in particular. It was the same crimson colour as the blade of the Onigari-no-Ryuuou. I took a deep breath, held the blade out in front of me, and stepped under the gate.

I felt them before I saw them: the temperature seemed to drop five degrees, and my skin tickled as though a fabric were rubbing against it. I could no longer see the moon. But they were there, the demons, gathered in their hundreds; the sky was a patchwork of grey and black tendrils as they floated above the shrine, silent sentinels drifting with the wind. And here and there a red spark as one or another turned towards me and I caught the blaze of its eyes; but they paid me no attention. One would float towards another so that their tendrils rubbed together, and I wondered if that was how they communicated. But if they were telling each other that I had arrived, they showed no alarm. I felt my blood chill. What could they be doing here, so many? Why hadn't Rika driven them away? Had her vigilance slipped? Or had something worse happened?

I had to know. I stepped forward, keeping the sword in front of me, ready to carve my way through the demons if they should decide to swoop on me once I reached the top of the stairs. But I had only gone up the first step when my foot touched something solid, and I looked down. In the light of the sword's aura, I saw a body on the stairs. He was lying face up: a young man, dressed in the indigo robes of Yanagida's acolytes. A savage, tearing cut reached across the belly, and a pool of blood spread out below him. I knew at once that he was dead.

I stepped cautiously around him, and looked up again. The demons floated nonchalantly past; the death of a human was nothing to them. What was going on? Were they swarming around the shrine in preparation for attack, or were they celebrating a victory they had already won? Why was Rika not out fighting them? Just because of her pregnancy, or... was it because the sacred sword had gone that they were able to get in? If that was the case – if this, too, was my fault – I couldn't bear it! I had to find out if Rika was safe. And Satoko? Had she been here at all?

I jumped up the stairs – and at once, came to a sudden halt again. I had almost tripped over another body. Another of Yanagida's priests, his belly slashed open like the first. A foul reek hung all around it. I couldn't look. I clambered on, all the way up, past one body after another, my heart pounding faster and faster as I went. Above me, the demons were whirling – no, they were _dancing_, dancing in celebration. I shook at the sword at them, but they were out of my reach.

I hurried on. I wanted so badly to scream out Rika's name, to let her know I was coming, but I knew it would serve no purpose. If she was alive, I would find her soon enough. And somehow I felt that, in that silent place, calling out would only bring the wrath of the demons down on my head. But that made no sense. The shrine was theirs now. They could kill me at any time they chose. If they chose to let me live, it showed that I was of no significance to them. Just a gullible fool whose soul was already lost.

At the top of the stairs, I looked out into the courtyard, and there I saw a body that could only be Yanagida himself. His robe was grander and more flowing than the others', and he was of course much older; but it was the walking-stick that lay broken next to him that told me who he was before I even got close. He had not been slashed open like the others, just stabbed once through the heart; but his face was contorted into an agony of helpless rage that told me he had seen his fate coming. And there, on the stone of the courtyard close by the body, was a shoeprint in blood. I held the sword out in the direction it pointed. Another, and another, and another, forming a clear trail that led away from the body and towards the shrine buildings. Yanagida and the others had been killed by a human, not a demon; the shoeprints told me that much. But who?

I followed the trail. It led between the main buildings and, beyond them, down towards the river. There, a mist was rising that stretched out and smothered the red aura coming from the shrine precinct; I was staring into a blackness in which nothing could be seen. But I knew what lay in that direction; I knew that the trail led directly towards the Saiguden. I broke into a run.

The mist was all around me, but the sword still gave out a faint glow, and I could see a black shape that I knew was the Saiguden just ahead of me. The door stood wide open, and the trail of footprints led straight on inside. There were no footprints coming out. Was the killer still inside, then? Either that, or he had noticed that the blood on his shoes was leaving a trail, and had got rid of them. But it was more likely that he was still inside. I ran forward. I wasn't going to hold back now! I am Sonozaki Shion, and it takes more than this to frighten me. Besides, I had the sword.

"Whoever's in there," I shouted, "drop your weapon and come out! I'm armed, and believe me, if you've hurt Rika or Satoko, I won't go easy on you!"

No answer. But the demons seemed to have taken notice of me at last. They halted in their dance, and more and more of them turned towards me. Thin black tendrils flicked through the air around them in a way that somehow seemed more purposeful than before.

I ignored them and ran into the Saiguden – and skidded to a halt almost at once. The stench was unbearable. It wasn't just blood; it was filth and festering waste. The air was so thick with it that I almost collapsed. But I had to know. I stepped forward and held out the sword.

Another gleam shone out in reply: the golden statue of Oyashiro-sama. In its dim light, the room seemed to come into being around me, a little refuge in the darkness. But this was no safe haven. It was carnage. Tools and torture implements lay strewn over the floor, broken and bloody. There were shards of glass, scraps of fabric, and snapped-off pieces of wood and metal. I scanned the room frantically, hardly daring to breathe. And then I saw it. A dark shape, lying draped over a rack of spikes at the back of the room. I knew at once from the bulging outline that it was Rika. I ran over to her and threw myself to my knees beside her, heedless of the glass and everything else. She lay still, her clothes sodden with blood. A spike had been driven right through her neck.

I don't know how long I knelt there, screaming out her name. After some time I looked up. I was trembling and sweating; but the screaming had stopped. The shock of the discovery had numbed me, and I was ready for what I knew had to come next. Slowly, I stretched the sword out towards the edge of the darkness. There, in the corner, a tall post stood, with hoops at the top for chaining the hands of the victim to be tortured. Satoko hung from the hoops, her head lolling lifelessly on her shoulder. Below that – I'm not sure I can begin to describe it. It looked like her body had been gripped tightly at both ends and ripped apart. Her clothes were torn to shreds, and her skin had snapped open, spilling out blood and entrails all over her and onto the floor. At least there was a knife in her. Perhaps the killer had finally run her through as an act of mercy.

The smell and everything else vanished in that moment. I clambered over the spike rack and slashed at Satoko's chains so that she fell from the hoops and into my arms, all that was left of her. Satoko. My sister. _Who had done this?_ And suddenly, as though my hands were no longer under my own control, I found myself lowering her gently to the floor. She was gone; I couldn't comfort her any more. I had to avenge her. I held out the sword until I could see the back wall of the room.

The statue was back in its former place, firmly covering the trapdoor. No-one could possibly have left the room that way. But there were no other exits, except for the door I had come in by. And there were no traces of blood leading out of the room – only the single trail leading in.


	34. Part II Ch 17 Exorcism

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**17  
>Exorcism<strong>

Gradually, my awareness of sounds and smells started to come back to me. Sirens were wailing in the distance; I heard them now with no curiosity. Nothing really seemed to matter any more. If the police were coming, they would arrive too late. I had lost my world and everything I cared for.

A car screeched to a halt, and its doors slammed with a boom like thunder. And then I jolted awake as the realisation struck me. They weren't here to help me. They had come to arrest me. After the way I'd left Sonozaki Manor – the others had heard me screaming out Rika's name in blind rage, then demanding to know where Satoko was – of course I'd only wanted to protect her, but there had been no time to explain that – no, that was wrong, there _had_ been time, but I'd just been too flustered – and I had been waving a sword around. It really must have looked like I was threatening to attack them both. So now the police would find the bodies, and they would assume _I_ killed Rika and Satoko! They probably wouldn't even bother to look for another explanation. Mind you, I still had a certain standing in the village, and surely Mion would insist on a proper investigation. But what could they find? Could they, perhaps, tell from the nature of the wounds that my sword was not the weapon used? I'm no expert on forensics, but that seemed unlikely. Just possibly, the investigation might turn up some clue that I had missed – the continuation of the blood-stained footprints, perhaps even the hiding-place where the actual weapon was discarded – and that would exonerate me. But I couldn't just wait in prison and hope they found something.

Somehow, even when I thought all feeling had dried up inside me, some residue caught fire and powered me into action. I had to get out of there. I ran out of the Saiguden and looked rapidly around. The river was close by, and escape that way looked tempting; but just getting away from the shrine was not enough. Once they found the bodies, they would set up roadblocks, make sure I couldn't leave the village. There was nowhere safe for me to hide any more, no-one who would shelter me. I had to be outside Hinamizawa before the net closed in.

Rika's car, then. I knew where she kept the keys. I ran back to the shrine precinct and towards the main building, averting my eyes from the spot where I knew Yanagida's body lay. Already I could hear Kumagai running up the stairs, shouting up towards me: "Stop!" The beam of a torch cut across the air. I didn't have much time, but at least the stairs would delay them.

The front door was never locked; no-one would dare steal from the priestess of Oyashiro-sama. But there was a locked door inside, separating the public rooms from the family's living area. I had no time to knock and wait for Suguru to wake up and let me in. The Onigari-no-Ryuuou made short work of the door, and I ran inside.

The keys were in the drawer as usual. I scooped them up. I was just about to leave, when a thought struck me. I didn't have much chance of getting past Kumagai and his men to reach the car. I could just run for it and hope for the best... or I could take a hostage. Why not? It wasn't as though I was going to hurt anyone. I just needed to borrow Kizuna to get as far as Okinomiya. She would forgive me, once she was old enough to understand. She would realise that it was the only thing I could do. My mind was made up, and no pangs of conscience were going to get in the way.

I stopped at the top of the stairs, and listened for a moment. All was silent. I tiptoed along to Kizuna's room as quickly as I dared. The door was slightly open, and her nightlight gave a blue gleam that seemed to enclose her room in a bubble of light. I touched the door, and it creaked gently open. Then a gust of wind ran down the corridor behind me, and the door thudded against the side wall. I held myself perfectly still, trying to silence the pounding of my heart so that I could hear Kizuna snoring. It was all right. She had not woken up.

Well, I was here now; there was no time for further debate, I just had to get on with it. I slipped over to the bed, threw back the blanket, and lifted Kizuna out. She was a little heavier than I expected, and I lurched as I struggled to keep my balance. Kizuna came awake.

"_Sensei!_" She looked up at me with wide, frightened eyes.

"Sh!" I hissed. "Don't make any noise, or we're both doomed."

She swivelled her head in all directions, trying to take in the situation. "Sensei, why are you carrying a sword?"

"Because doors are too conventional for me," I said, and broke the window.

Kizuna screamed.

"Quiet!" I said. Not that it made any difference now. And I couldn't blame Kizuna. The noise of the glass shattering would surely have woken everyone anyway. I just had to get out. I ran the blade along the edge of the window, knocking out the remaining chunks of glass so as to make a space I could climb through –

"Hey! What are you doing?"

I swung my head round. Oh, great. Kizuna's little brother was standing in the doorway, in his pyjamas, trying to strike an intimidating pose. The effect was rather weakened by the fluffy pink rabbit he was clutching in his left hand.

"Seiji, get back!" Kizuna called out.

He glared at me as if he thought beams were going to come out of his eyes. Then he stepped forward, grabbed Kizuna's reading lamp of all things, and held it above his head as though he meant to use it as a weapon. He was waving it about so wildly that he looked in danger of hurting himself; besides, I don't think he understood that it was attached to the electrical outlet.

"You let go of my sister!" he shouted at me.

"What's going on?" came a sleepy voice from behind him. Suguru. That was all I needed.

I jumped through the window and landed on the grass less gracefully than I would have liked, but at least I was unhurt, and Kizuna seemed to have calmed down a bit. She was frightened, but she trusted me. She clung tightly to my arm, and I felt the warmth of her body flow through me and replenish my strength. I started out across the lawn towards the side gate. Predictably, as soon as I emerged from the shadow of the building, I was caught in the crossfire of torch beams, and two or three men ran out towards me.

I swung round, whipping out the sword and pointing it straight at them. "Don't shoot!" I cried. "I have a hostage!"

The one in front skidded to a halt and spoke rapidly into a communicator. Well, I wasn't going to wait around for Kumagai to arrive. I darted towards the fence, and clambered through a gap I'd known about ever since we were kids.

I soon disappeared under the trees; just let them try to find me now! I heard a thud as one of them ran into the fence. They would be trying to find the gap, shining their torches desperately into the darkness; here and there a faint gleam found its way through, but the trees blocked out most of the light, and they were making far too much noise to hear my soft footsteps.

I ran as far as I could, until at last I had to pause to catch my breath.

"Sensei?" Kizuna whispered. "What... what's going on?"

I smiled down at her, even though I knew she could not see me. It meant so much to know that even one person still believed in me, enough to keep holding on to me when she could so easily have been screaming and trying to struggle free. I knew then that I had to tell her the truth.

"I have to get away," I whispered back. "The police are after me. They think I killed her..."

"K... killed?" Kizuna sobbed. "Sensei, who's dead?"

"Satoko..." I shuddered as I said the name. I couldn't tell her about her mother, not yet. And I certainly wasn't going to mention Kotone.

"No!" Kizuna whimpered as she clung tightly to me. I ran my hand gently through her hair, and smiled. I had no doubts about her now.

We were drawing near to the road now. I stopped just before the last trees, when I was still hidden from a casual glance at least. I put Kizuna down and peered cautiously out.

The police cars were there as I expected, in a line along the road, just in front of the torii. Of course, two policemen had stayed behind to guard the cars. Not even Kumagai would be so stupid as to leave them completely unguarded. And Rika's car was there too, just beyond them.

"Kizuna," I whispered, "we need to get to the car. You know what to do. I believe in you."

That was all she needed. She nodded once, and ran out into the road. As soon as she was well away from the trees, she let out a terrific scream. She can be a really scary girl at times.

Both policemen swung round and shone their torches towards her.

"Help!" Kizuna cried. "Sensei's gone mad! She tried to kidnap me, but I got away!"

"Where is she?" said one of the men.

"She ran away – that way, past that house over there..." She pointed down the street in the opposite direction.

"Nishijima, call Kumagai and look after the girl," the man said quickly. The other man nodded, and he ran down the street, soon vanishing between the houses.

Nishijima was just getting out his communicator when Kizuna tugged on his sleeve.

"What is it?" he said crossly.

I clubbed him in the back of the head with the hilt of the sword, and he dropped to the ground. "Well done!" I said to Kizuna. She smiled back at me, and jumped into the passenger seat. We both slammed our doors at exactly the same moment, and were off.

* * *

><p>"Where are we going, sensei?" Now that she had gotten over her initial shock, Kizuna sounded almost excited.<p>

"Okinomiya, first of all," I said. "I've got to pick up a few things. Money, false identity papers – I've kept them in my old room in Kasai's apartment just in case I ever needed them."

"Oh." She sounded so concerned, I wanted to reach out and cuddle her, but I had to keep my eye on the road. I was going as fast as I dared.

"Sensei?" she said after a while. "Does... does that mean you aren't coming back?"

"I'm sorry, Kizuna," I said. "I didn't kill Satoko, I'm sure you know that. But I can't prove it, not now when all the evidence is against me. I'm going to disappear for a while."

"But we will see each other again?" She sounded so forlorn. It was really touching.

"I don't know," I said. "I hope so. And if you ever do run into me again, my name will be Suzushiro Satsuki." I took a deep breath. "You _do_ believe I didn't kill her, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" She sobbed and leant towards me, as if _she_ wanted to reach out and comfort _me_. "I know you'd never hurt Satoko! She's... well, she's your friend like Kotone is to me."

My grip on the wheel slipped a little as my whole frame shook, and the car jolted.

"Sensei?" said Kizuna. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I said quickly. "Kizuna, thank you for believing in me."

"Always," she said with a sad little smile.

"Thank you," I said again. "You've always been a good friend. I'm really grateful that you've always been there for Kotone."

"It's a pleasure," Kizuna beamed. "I really like her, you know that."

I bit into my lip, trying my best to keep myself steady. I couldn't let the car slip again.

"I know. She's always been fond of you, ever since you were both babies. You two were such a contrast, even at that age. She's always been such a cheerful girl, and you were so serious and solemn... but every time you were together, I could see how much she cheered you up."

There was a long silence. I had plunged too deeply into my own thoughts to express them in words any longer. I could see Kotone, as clearly as if she were right there in front of me, setting off for school with her bag slung over her shoulder, on a bright morning with the sun blazing away to welcome her into the world. That's right. It was past midnight now; morning was approaching. The sun would rise again, and Kotone would be there, back at Sonozaki Manor, waiting to greet it. That was why I couldn't go back there. I wouldn't be able to see her. I just had to picture her in my memory, and all would be well again, for her at least, and that was all that mattered –

"Sensei!" Kizuna shouted. "Look out!"

We were on a long stretch of straight road, approaching the crest of the hill between Hinamizawa and Okinomiya. The road narrowed at this point, and a police car was blazing towards us. I couldn't think any more. Was I on the wrong side? Were they just racing to the shrine to join the others, or were they trying to stop me? I wasn't going to give up now!

"Scream and look frightened, damn it!" I shouted back. I blasted the horn.

I don't think Kizuna needed to be told to look frightened. As the other car approached, I saw a look of terrified panic on the driver's face, and they swerved to avoid us. We shot past them; they vanished in a split second and the road was dark again.

I said nothing more as we coasted down the final stretch into Okinomiya. Kizuna just sat in a huddle on the seat, whimpering. Streets and buildings flickered past; there was just enough light from the streetlights to follow the road, but beyond the edge of their haze, everything just blended into a dark blue. Still, I knew my way to Kasai's apartment well enough to find it in the dark. I skidded to a halt outside the building, grabbed Kizuna's arm, and jumped out.

At the moment my feet hit the pavement, a man stepped out of the doorway towards us, and hoisted a gun.

Well, well. Kasai Hikaru of all people.

"What are you doing here?" I snarled.

"Waiting for you," he said.

"You have no authority over me! You're not your father – not even half the man he is."

"Enough!" Hikaru snapped. "Put that sword down and walk away from the girl."

I had to think of a lie.

"Why so suspicious? I just came here to warn your father. He's in danger."

He stepped forward grimly. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me past, Hikaru-kun. I have to speak to your father!"

"He's not here. What made you think he was?"

"Let me see for myself!" I shouted.

Hikaru hesitated. Silly young fool. He really had no idea how to handle the situation. He had the gun. He should have been able to assert his authority; but he was too much inclined to be deferential. Kasai senior, had he been here, would not have been proud of him.

I shoved Kizuna towards him; she stumbled forward and wobbled as if she was about to fall, and Hikaru jumped out to catch her. In a flash, I was past him and slamming the door behind me. But I knew I couldn't hope to delay him for long, so I raced up the stairs to my old room.

All was silent. I was sure Hikaru was telling the truth that Kasai was not here. Although he still used the room next to mine, it was not his main home; he had retired to a nice comfortable house in the suburbs, where he lived with his wife Ami and Hikaru, their only child.

My room was still furnished much as I had left it, and perfectly clean, just as if it were kept waiting for me to return. I shut and locked the door behind me, took a series of rapid breaths as I recovered my composure, and looked around.

I'm not sure what it was exactly, but there was _something_ about the atmosphere, maybe a smell or something a little out of place, that told me someone had been in here, quite recently. I stopped and scanned the room more carefully. And then I saw it.

Oryou's kaiken had been driven neatly through the pillow.

I stood there, staring. Why would anyone do that? If someone were staying in the room, it would make sense – but the bed was neatly made; the table showed no signs of having been used; nothing had been touched or moved around. It _couldn't_ be meant as a threat to me. Why would anyone guess I would be coming back here? I often didn't see the inside of this room for years.

Well, there was no time to think about that. I had to get my money and false identity papers out of the safe. I slipped behind the bed and gave it a hefty push that heaved it across the floor. This exposed a panel that was designed to look like an air conditioner, unless you knew how to open it by turning the dial to the correct sequence of positions. I turned it until it clicked open.

I stared. The money and papers were still there, but I was _sure_ that Satsuki's passport had been buried under a pile of fake insurance documents, just in case anyone managed to get this far. It was now lying on top of the pile. Trembling, I took the passport out and opened it.

It was ruined. Several pages had been roughly torn out, and the photograph was slashed right across, perhaps with the very knife I had just seen embedded in the pillow.

"Who... who did this?" I found myself saying out loud.

From behind me there came a sound of soft mocking laughter. I span round.

The room was empty.

I stood for a few moments, holding myself, telling myself not to panic. I must have just imagined that sound. But no. I caught sight of the mirror: its surface was swelling with billowing black clouds, and through them, the red pinprick eyes of the demon were glinting at me.

It seemed we _were_ going to have one last confrontation after all.

I stepped forward, glaring right back into its eyes. This was as it should be: just me and him, with nowhere left for either of us to run.

"So we face each other at last," I snarled.

The demon said nothing, but the black smoke continued to swirl, and its eyes blazed.

"I'll end you now," I said, lifting up the sword in readiness to strike. "You have haunted my family for too long. No last words? I suppose not. There's no-one left for you to possess. You have no power any more. How pathetic. Well, in that case, all you can do is – _die!_"

I leapt forward, driving the blade ahead of me in a wide arc. The demon could do nothing; it was only smoke and light, after all. I had no fear of it now. I swung the sword again and again, driving the air with it to blast the smoke away. It would have been more satisfying if I could see its face – I wanted it to show fear before it died. But the red lights flickered and faded as I pressed my attack, and that was satisfying enough. I readied myself for one final stroke, and then roared and lunged and drove the blade into the mirror. It shattered with a magnificent noise, and motes of dust hung in the air and stung my eyes. I coughed, closed my eyes for a moment, faded back, and shook my head until the pain went away.

Was that it? Was the demon finally destroyed now? Breathing heavily, hardly daring to hope, I opened my eyes again. There was nothing there, only the broken mirror, and tendrils of smoke dissipating in the air. I gripped the sword tightly and held it out, keeping it pointing into the space where the demon had been.

Then I felt a sudden blast of wind strike my cheek, and I swung round towards the window, even though I knew it was closed. The bedclothes were rustling; a framed photo slid across the desk. And, as I tightened my grip on the sword to keep it steady, I saw the tendrils of smoke collect into a cloud again and come billowing towards me. My eyes felt like they had been stabbed; my hair flew up behind me, and my feet started to slide backwards. A concoction of weird smells overwhelmed my senses; they were like nothing I had ever smelt before, like burning dreams and the essences of extinct herbs. Was this the demon's final attack? Was it trying to possess _me_ now?

No! I couldn't let that happen. I lashed out with the sword, trying desperately to ward it off; but the smoke was surrounding me on all sides. The room blurred into an inky haze. I choked, spluttered, and began to lose my balance. Everything was spinning round me in wild circles. I let go of the sword. I didn't even hear it fall; there were voices in the air, laughing voices. I didn't recognise them at first, but slowly, they were becoming clearer. I was back in the family conclave, and they were all around me, all laughing at me. I was so weak. I'd failed to destroy the demon, even with Rika holding my hand at every step. I'd let it take over my life, let it ruin everything. And now Satoko and Rika were dead, and Kizuna was alone and terrified. And those eyes glaring at me through the smoke – they were Oryou's eyes. She'd known all along how weak I was. It was no wonder the family had tried to cast me out. I had never belonged.

They were all laughing at me. Karen scornfully, Chiharu haughtily, and Mion –

No. That wasn't right. Mion would _never_ try to hurt me like that.

Damn it all, I could still _think_, couldn't I? This was just some trick of the demon, trying to turn me against them. It was attacking me with smoke. Well, then, I needed fresh air! I ran to the window – a large one, almost a door, leading out onto the balcony. I didn't have the sword any more. No matter. I threw myself against the glass, sideways, ramming it with my shoulder. It was heavy, and I bounced painfully off it. Laughter echoed all around the little room.

I ignored it. Once more. The glass would give, if I kept at it hard enough. I just had to keep trying. I leapt again at the window.

Shards of glass stung my arms as it shattered around me, but I barely noticed. I was outside at last, taking in deep breaths of fresh air again. The demon couldn't get at me now. Its last attack had failed; the smoke would dissipate, and soon there would be nothing left for anyone to see.

I grabbed onto the balcony railing, leaning as far forward as I could to let the delicious air flow into me. Below, Okinomiya was sleeping. The lights formed a spider's web of invisibly thin threads, barely touching the surrounding darkness. The silence was broken only by the purring of engines and the thudding of doors from directly below. The police had caught up with me at last. There was no way out now. Even if by some miracle I managed to break through, I wasn't going to get far. Without my hostage, without my false identity papers, I could do nothing more than hide until they eventually found me. And really, what was the point of running now? Here, at least I could rest for a while and enjoy the stillness of the moment. It was a comfort, in a way, even after everything that had happened, to know that all around me was a city of sleeping people, all with their own lives, untouched by the night's tragedy. When the morning came, they would get up and get on with life and would never even know. The terrible mistakes I had made, all the pain I had caused, it all meant nothing to the world. In the end, I'm nothing but an ordinary, unimportant fool.

A smell came out from the room behind me. So the demon _was_ still there. I didn't need to look round; I understood now. It was billowing out towards me, taking hold of me; we would go down together. That had always been the only possible ending. It was how things should be: the final expiation of my sins. I was all alone; the police were inside the building now. No-one was watching.

No-one would notice if I stepped out... just a little bit further...


	35. Part II Epilogue

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter**

**Epilogue**

It was a warm summer morning. Waves of sunshine washed over the white rocks, and were here and there thrown back by minuscule points of crystal, erupting into splashes that got into your eyes and stung. The trees had awoken and lifted themselves up to greet the sun, spreading out their branches so the light fell on them and painted them in glorious colours, a mosaic of flowing greens and yellows like an enormous patchwork cloak. The patches were tattered in places where the river lay like a jagged tear running through them, but they reached out across it until it was barely visible. A road ran among the trees where they were thinner near the top of the mountain, and a bus rolled along the road at a leisurely pace.

There were only a few passengers, some sitting in pairs and chatting, some sitting alone and fidgeting or trying to read a book. The only person paying attention to the scenery was an old man in the front seat, who had stared through the window in silence since the start of the journey. He was tall and dignified, smartly dressed in a dark suit with a beige jacket; thin spikes of grey hair hung about his head like a crown of thorns. He had once been handsome, and it still showed in the strong line of his jaw; but his face was now worn and wrinkled, his dark eyes reduced to mere points of light peering out from the shadows. When the bus stopped at Okinomiya, he heaved himself from his seat with a deep sigh, as if the weight of the world's sorrows was trying to press him back down. The other passengers watched him doddering towards the exit with expressions ranging from impatience to pity, and then returned to their books and forgot about him.

He sat on a bench and took out a drink from his bag, and then set off, not into the town but down the old road where the bus route used to go. It was long disused now, and young trees had stretched out their careless roots and torn cracks in the paving, but there was still enough of the road left to make for a pleasant hike that would not tax his old legs too much. He was still decently fit, and it was not long before the noise of the town was a long way behind him, and he was alone with the drowsy fluttering of the leaves and the perennial song of the cicadas. Their voices were much softer now; they had almost forgotten how to sing after being alone for so long.

The road took a heavy bend around a spur of rock, and as he came round it, Akasaka saw the valley that was his destination, stretched out below him until its colours disappeared into a golden haze on the horizon. He stopped for a moment to take it all in, resting on his stick with a posture of deep weariness. So many memories lay buried in that valley, now covered deep beneath a blanket of new soil and grass. Yet it was easy to see that it had once been a human habitation, and not just because there was a gap that the forest had not yet closed over. Although no buildings were still standing, here and there were large slabs of stone that marked where they had once been. And towards the south, close up against the boundary of the forest, two huge pillars stood side by side. The arch they had once held up was gone, and if Akasaka had not known, there was no sign that they marked the boundary of the shrine precinct, and his final destination.

It was close on noon when he reached the pillars. As was his custom when he made this pilgrimage, he stood between them and bowed in homage to the god of the destroyed village, and then turned and rested on the steps as he surveyed the ruins and tried to hold in his mind the memory of the place this had once been.

It was only when he at last stood up again and looked between the pillars one last time that he realised that he was not alone.

A person – a girl, he guessed from her very long hair – knelt among the ruins of the shrine, in a huddle with her head bowed, making no movement, and no sound at all. How long had she been there? Was she even a real person at all, or a ghost? In a place like this, seeing ghosts would not be at all surprising. And she did remind him of Rika, with similar indigo blue hair. But it wasn't quite the same; this girl's hair was a darker and more vibrant blue than Rika's had been. Still, he felt by association that if she was a ghost, she would not be a malevolent one.

"Good afternoon," he said quietly.

The girl sprang up and slowly turned to face him, trembling as she did. Akasaka smiled and took a step back, spreading his arms to show that he meant no malice. She stared at him with wide, vacant eyes. She was young, perhaps sixteen, and had a sweet face; but her mouth was flat and dead, as though it had forgotten how to smile.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you," Akasaka said. "I was just surprised to find you here."

"Not half as surprised as I am," she said. "I thought I was the only one who remembered this place."

"I came here a few times, a long time ago. Look... you're Furude Kizuna-san, aren't you?"

She nodded.

"I was friends with your mother, Rika-sama. You won't remember me, but I held you in my arms once when you were very small."

"Really?" Her mouth made a hesitant step in the direction of smiling.

Akasaka stepped forward until they were close enough to chat comfortably. There was no sense of unease about Kizuna now; the two of them were like old friends already.

"Really. I'll never forget that day and how happy she looked – just as if she were a child again." He smiled wistfully. "That was always how I thought of Rika – she was both an adult and a child, in a way. She had a tremendous amount of courage and wisdom, but she never lost that sense of deep-seated joy at how beautiful the world is that only children have."

Now Kizuna really did smile. "That's a lovely way of putting it. I take it you have kids yourself?"

"A daughter, and two grandchildren. Ken's four, and Naomi was born this January."

Kizuna nodded. "I'm glad. To know that life is going on, I mean."

She turned and stared into the distance, out across the ruins of the village. Akasaka coughed nervously, feeling that he ought to speak, but not knowing what to say.

At last he said, "That's the way it has to be. When we lose someone we love, they leave a mark on our souls that can never be erased. But we have to keep going, because it's what they would want."

"I know," Kizuna said, without looking round. "I have a new life now. My adoptive parents have been very kind to me; they love me as if I was their own daughter. And I have good friends at school. But... I still miss them all terribly. It's so hard, knowing that they'll never get the chance to grow up. Seiji, Akito-kun, Naoya-kun, Miaka-chan, Saki-chan, Eiko-chan..." She closed her eyes, and her voice dropped to the merest ghost of a whisper. "_Kotone..._"

"They'd all be glad to know that you escaped alive, I'm sure of it," said Akasaka.

"I know," Kizuna said bitterly. "But it all feels so _wrong_. I don't know if you know the story of what happened that night..."

"I know as much as was in the official records."

She gave him a sharp glance.

"I used to be a police detective. I would have done anything to protect Rika-sama, but since I was unable to save her, I tried my best to solve the mystery surrounding her death."

Kizuna nodded slowly. "So you know that Sonozaki-sensei kidnapped me and took me to Okinomiya with her, before she... before..." She began to tremble again.

"Before she either fell or jumped from the balcony of Kasai Tatsuyoshi's apartment."

"Yes. And it's entirely because of that that I survived when all my friends died. She wasn't trying to save me or anything – she just needed a hostage, and I was close at hand. It could have been any of the others instead. It just happened to be me." She sobbed, and then quickly shook her head and wiped away the tear. "It's so unfair. I've spent so many nights lying awake, wishing it could have been Kotone instead of me. But I suppose Sonozaki-sensei didn't have time to run back to the Manor before the police arrived. They were after her... she said they suspected her of killing Satoko-san, which is _stupid_, because she never would have done. And for that stupid reason..."

There was a long silence.

"Kizuna-san," said Akasaka, "can I ask you a question?"

She turned back towards him, and stared at the ground between them, swinging one hand loosely to and fro. "Go ahead."

"You know, I've come back to this mystery so many times over the years, trying to piece together the clues and work out what happened here. I know that you were questioned officially at the time. But I've never gotten the chance to speak with you before now. So I wondered if, maybe, if we put our heads together, something new might turn up..."

Kizuna shook her head. "I'm sorry. I've been over it in my mind again and again, trying to remember everything Sonozaki-sensei said to see if there's some clue there... but it's too long ago now, and I was only a child at the time. I can't remember it any more. I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Akasaka said gently. "If you can't remember anything, I understand that."

"It's like you said. It's best left in the past. We have to move on." She lifted herself up. "Mother should be here soon."

Akasaka bowed. "I wish you all the best," he said. "And I promise, I will do my best to find out the truth, if I can."

"Don't," said Kizuna. "It's not worth wasting your life over. You can't bring them back. It's most likely that the real killer died along with everyone else. The truth will never be known."

"Perhaps," said Akasaka. And he remained standing by the pillar and watched as the girl slowly walked away, her long hair floating out behind her in the soft breeze.

"Kizuna!" a voice called out. Just on the edge of the forest, where an old path ran out from the shrine precinct and vanished under the trees, a woman was standing. She was too far away for Akasaka to see her clearly; but he somehow felt that they had met before, he couldn't remember where. There was definitely something familiar about her – her shoulder-length red hair, her white clothes and hat, even the particular words she happened to use:

"Time to go. Come on now, I'm taking you home with me."

And Kizuna took her hand and they walked away together: just two more ghosts vanishing back into the past.


	36. Part III Ch 1 The Day We Caught the Rain

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

narrated by Fujiura Saki

* * *

><p><em>Today you still suffer from the many, O man set apart:<br>today you still have your courage whole and your hopes._

_But one day solitude will make you weary,  
>one day your pride will bend and your courage break.<br>One day you will cry: "I am alone!"_

_There are emotions that seek to kill the solitary;  
>if they do not succeed, well, they must die themselves!<br>But are you capable of being a murderer?_

* * *

><p><strong>1<br>The Day We Caught the Rain**

_Finally!_ I thought we'd never get to the end of that. I don't know why Aunt Shion has to go on for so long about her feelings; she's only an old woman. This, on the other hand, will be a story well worth listening to. Because this is _my_ story.

Let's start on the Monday, the day after Watanagashi. I arrived at school in my usual fashion, bursting with energy and brimming over with ideas for tricks to play on the new girl, Miaka-senpai. It's such _fun_ to have a new girl in school, especially in the middle of the year when we weren't expecting it. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy taking Kotone down a peg or two, or paying Kizuna back for those – those _things_ she puts down my dress sometimes. But they've been with our group long enough to know what to look out for now.

Besides, the club games are a lot more fun now with six of us. And I think Akito-senpai may have taken a liking to her. I've certainly caught him glancing in her direction more than a few times. It's so cute how he thinks I won't notice if he looks away again quickly enough. I'm not _that_ stupid. It's a pity that she's only staying for another two weeks; it would make things interesting if she was around long enough to become a love interest. As it is, I guess Akito and Naoya will just have to fight over me when I'm a bit older. Not that I wouldn't _like_ that, but – those two are such a funny pair, it would be a real shame to see them fall out.

Anyway, getting back to school. I arrived exactly on time, as usual; what's the point in being early and then having to wait around? Just as the nine o'clock bell sounded, I threw the door open with a loud bang. That's my way of letting Aunt Shion and the others know I've arrived. Everyone looked round. Akito just grunted, as if he'd been hoping I wouldn't show up. Naoya was staring into the distance, lost in thought; I'm not sure if he even noticed me. Miaka was pleased to see me, of course; as we're the only two big girls in the group, we've naturally become very close.

As for Kotone and Kizuna, well, I'm almost like a big sister to them. Ever since Akito inducted them both into the club, I've taken responsibility for bringing them up in the ways of mischief. Not that Kizuna ever needed much persuading; she has a natural mischievous streak a mile wide, and I have to keep a careful eye on her. She has a powerful weapon that I never had – she's so cute that adults always want to believe the best of her. They fool themselves into thinking she couldn't possibly be up to anything, and I'm usually the one who takes the blame.

Kotone, on the other hand, was a harder nut to crack. You look at her now, all sweet and smiling everywhere she goes, and you wouldn't believe how shy she was when she first joined the club. She used to cling to Akito like he was her shield against the world. It took a lot of prodding to get her to stand out of his shadow and open up to the rest of us, even a little bit. She's never opened up completely. Except maybe to Kizuna, I don't know. I just know that when I look at her, I have no idea what's going on on the inside, how she feels about me or the club or her own family. Her smile has become a new shield, in a way. It doesn't matter, though. She's one of us now.

Monday was a good day. Aunt Shion was exhausted after the Watanagashi festival, so we spent most of the day doing fun things like painting and modelling, anything that would let Shion give us our instructions and then catch half an hour's sleep behind her desk. Akito took charge at keeping us out of mischief, which he's pretty good at. Aside from one heated moment when Kizuna took it into her head that she needed to go out and fetch some mud for her sculpture, the day passed without incident.

After school, we gathered round as we always did, to see what game Akito had in mind.

"All right," he said, clapping his hands to bring the meeting to order. "As you know, it was the Watanagashi festival yesterday. Kotone, as you came last in the eating contest, you have to wear Kichi's shrine maiden costume every day this week. But more importantly, I won no fewer than six prizes at the hoopla!" Akito beamed. "But I have enough toys already." Understatement of the century. "So, I've decided to give these prizes away – and that's today's game!"

We all tensed up as we waited for Akito's announcement. One thing was certain – this was going to be a game to remember.

"It's a treasure hunt!" he cried out. "I've hidden the six prizes at different places in the village, and made a trail of clues leading to each one. The first clues for each trail are _here_." He took six identical envelopes from his bag. "We'll do this in pairs, and I can't take part when I set the clues, so we need one more person. Kichi, will you ask Eiko-chan to step over?"

Kizuna nodded, and ran to fetch Eiko. She is the daughter of Tomita Daiki, one of Mother and Rika's friends from their school days. As she's only six, she isn't an official club member yet, but she joins in the games when we need an extra person. She'll most likely be a candidate for full membership when the next school year starts in April. Sooner or later, we'll need new blood to replace Akito and Naoya when it's time for them to graduate – which is also when I'll be taking over as club leader. I already have a few ideas about how I'm going to run things.

Anyway, Eiko was just on her way out the door with her friend Ryouko when Kizuna stopped her. She ran over to us, waving a hasty goodbye to Ryouko, and beamed up at Akito like a little puppy waiting for a treat – that's how excited she always is when she gets to join in a game.

Akito had to explain the rules all over again.

"All right," said Naoya, getting out the pack of cards. "Shall we cut for partners?"

"No, we all know how that would end," said Akito. He took out six cards, shuffled them, and spread them out face down. "Take one each, and whoever has the same suit is your partner."

Kotone was the first to call out. "Diamonds! Who's got a diamond?"

She looked hopefully towards Kizuna – but it was Naoya who responded. Well, well. _That_ was an interesting pairing: the shy girl and the quiet boy. It would be rather funny to listen to the two of them discussing the clues. I wished I could have followed them with a video camera – but I had to look for my own partner. My card was the four of spades, and peering round at the others' cards confirmed that I was with Miaka. _Excellent._ I've got nothing against the younger kids, but a village-wide treasure hunt like this is much more fun when you don't have to babysit.

"That means you're with me," said Kizuna, taking Eiko's hand. "This is going to be fun!"

"On the count of three, team leaders choose one envelope and go," said Akito. "The other three envelopes will stay in the classroom. Once you find your first treasure, you can come back here and take another one!"

We all nodded and stood round the table in a circle, in tense anticipation.

"One, two, _three!_"

Naoya, Kizuna and I all dived towards the envelopes, so rapidly that the remaining three fluttered up in the air and glided to the floor. I grabbed the first envelope I could get hold of, and nodded to Miaka. We ran outside and stopped in the shadow of the building to open our first clue.

A sweet wrapper and an acorn.

Miaka took the wrapper and gazed at it in bewilderment, turning it over and over as if she expected to find some kind of secret message written on it in tiny characters.

I laughed.

"What's so funny?" said Miaka, sounding a bit hurt.

"Admit it, _senpai_, you'd be lost without me."

"All right, I'd be lost without you." The beautiful redhead huffed. "I've only been in Hinamizawa for two weeks, and you've lived here all your life. So, go on, what does it mean?"

"This wrapper is from Satou's sweet shop, and the acorn comes from an oak, of course. Let's go to the shop and see if we can find an oak tree nearby!"

"Okay!"

We grinned and high-fived, then ran off together. Miaka has just the same go-getting attitude as me; it's no wonder we get on so well. She's an amazing runner, but I was so thrilled about the game that I very nearly kept pace with her. Each time I was about to draw close, though, she tilted her head towards me, laughed, and picked up speed. By the time we reached Satou's sweet shop, I was just about ready to collapse. Damn Miaka! I'll have to find a way to pay her back.

The old widow woman who owns the shop greeted us both with a friendly smile.

"Well, if it isn't young Saki-chan. And who's your friend? What can I get for you today?"

"Sorry, we're not here for sweets, Satou-san," I said. "We're looking for an oak tree."

She blinked. "An oak tree? There must be many of them around. But I can't help you with that; I'm too old to take part in these treasure hunts of yours."

"Is there an oak tree by your shop? You must know, Satou-san!"

"Saki-chan," Miaka said quietly. "You could look, instead of asking. It's right there."

She pointed through the window at a huge tree that stood just outside the shop.

"Oh," I said. "Is that an oak?"

Miaka laughed. "You don't know how to tell different types of trees?"

"Well..."

She prodded me gently. "Admit it, Saki, you'd be lost without me!"

I ignored her, and lifted my head and sauntered off to examine the tree. This was the one, there was no doubt about it. I walked round the back of the tree, and almost at once found the little hollow in which the second envelope had been placed. I tore it open.

"This is one of those balls of cotton from the festival," said Miaka. "Does that mean that one person didn't get their sins washed away?"

"Nah, I'm sure Akito just took a spare piece," I said. "What else is in the envelope?"

Miaka felt around and drew out a straight, very thin stick.

I looked it over carefully. "Huh, that's a cat treat," I said. "Akito is making the clues really easy – well, I suppose he has to when Eiko's taking part." I waved the stick in front of Miaka's eyes. "Come on, _senpai_, even you can get this one, can't you?"

"I sure can," said Miaka. "Let's go!"

Satou stood watching us from the side door. "You girls and your energy," she said as we raced off. "It does my old heart good to see you."

* * *

><p>The Furude Shrine stood on the edge of the village, and by the time we got there, I had given up even trying to keep pace with Miaka. I would <em>have<em> to find some way to pay her back.

Rin was waiting in the courtyard, as cute and beautiful as ever; even my excitement about finding the next clue didn't stop me sitting down and throwing my arms around her and nestling my face close to hers as I tenderly stroked her soft black fur. Miaka just touched her gently and said "Hello, Rin-chan," and took our third clue out from under her water bowl.

Before we could open the envelope, however, a shadow fell over us, and I looked up to see Rika – the village priestess and Kizuna's mother – waddling towards us.

"Good afternoon, Saki-chan, Miaka-chan," she said. "Kizuna isn't with you?"

"No, we've split into teams," I said.

"Ah well. I'm sure she's having a good time. Akito-kun always organises such fun games. Would you two like to come in and have some tea?"

"Sorry, but we're in a hurry," I said quickly, before Miaka could say anything. "It's a treasure hunt, you see – Akito has hidden clues for us to find, all round the village."

"Ah, so that's what it's about!" Rika laughed. "I saw Akito prowling around the shrine at midnight last night, but I didn't want to let him know I'd seen him, in case he felt embarrassed."

"But what were you doing, still awake at that time?" I said.

"Oh, nothing." Rika suddenly looked a little embarrassed herself. "I just couldn't sleep. You know how it is, sometimes. It's so tiresome having to wait..." She sighed and patted her bulge.

"It must be very exciting for you," said Miaka. "Will it be a boy or a girl?"

A wry smile played over Rika's face. "I chose not to find out," she said. "You know me – if I knew which it would be, then I'd want the opposite, just to say 'screw destiny!' "

Miaka laughed with her. "It's good to see you again, Rika-sama."

"And you. I'm very glad to see you've settled in so well. You're looking very cheerful."

Miaka bowed. "Everyone's been really friendly." She placed an affectionate hand on my shoulder. "But we really should be going."

"Of course – you have to enjoy your games while the sun shines," said Rika. "Be careful, though. I think there's a storm coming."

I snorted. "Huh, what are you talking about?" It was a bright, stiflingly hot day; there was barely a cloud in sight.

"You may not see them, but the clouds are gathering all the same," said Rika. "Please take care, both of you – and especially you, Saki-chan."

"Huh! I'm old enough to look after myself!"

She bowed. "I know you are. Your mother's very proud of you."

We said our goodbyes and hurried away; I was impatient to examine the next clue. As soon as we were outside the shrine precinct, we stopped to open the envelope.

It contained a padlock and a paintbrush.

Miaka and I stood together for a moment in silence.

"Well?" she said at last. "I thought you would get this one at once."

"Trust Akito to give us a tricky one after fooling us with all those easy ones earlier," I said. "Wait, don't tell me you've got it, _senpai_!"

Miaka chuckled. You know, I like her a lot, but I have to say that when she laughs, it is the most annoying sound. She sounds like a creaky old CD player.

I stamped my foot. "Miaka! Tell me!"

"And I thought you were the resident clue-solving genius..."

I bit into my lip. This would _definitely_ have to be repaid later. "All right, all right, I give up. So tell me what it means, O wise one."

Miaka grinned. "Nah, I don't know either."

"_Miaka!_" I howled. And I'm sure it could be heard halfway across the village. Not that I mind. Everyone here knows me and likes me.

"All right, let's look at what we've got," she said. "Going by the pattern of the clues so far, one object is a hint to the general location, and the other tells us where specifically to look when we get there."

"Yes, and so?"

Miaka held out the two objects. "Well, does this padlock suggest a location to you?"

I took it and looked it over. "It's just an ordinary padlock. For locking a shed or a gate or something like that. Not the Saiguden – that has a much bigger lock, and Akito wouldn't put the next clue so close to the last one. If it's a house shed, it could be anywhere in the village."

Miaka nodded. "So maybe the paintbrush is the clue to the general location."

"An art shop? The nearest one's in Okinomiya."

"Perhaps there's a painter living in the village?"

I screwed up my face. "I can't think of anyone."

Miaka frowned. "I'm stuck, then."

"Wait!" I said. "I'll phone Naoya. He knows all the adults. I bet he'd know."

"Naoya?" Miaka blinked. "But he's on another team."

"Yeah, but I know just how to get round him. You'll see."

I took my phone out – but Miaka grabbed hold of it.

"Wait," she said. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"Offer them a clue exchange. We'll tell them ours if they tell us theirs. Then, when they try to poach our clue, we follow them, and they'll lead us straight to it!"

"Saki-chan..."

"What? This game's getting boring anyway. Not enough interaction."

I snatched the phone back from her and typed Naoya's number, swivelling round as I did to keep the phone away from Miaka's prying hands.

"Hey there!" I called out as soon as I got through.

"Saki-chan? What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to know how you're getting on with your clue."

"I don't see that that's any of your business."

"Aww, Naoya-kun!" I scowled, even though I knew he couldn't see me. "Do you want me to be unhappy?"

"If it'll keep you quiet, then maybe it's not such a bad thing."

I refused to rise to his baiting. "If you're stuck, then maybe I can help you..."

He chuckled. "I'll pass. Kotone-chan's all the help I need."

"Can I talk to her?" I said casually.

"Sure, but don't be too long, we've got a prize to find, remember."

I glowered at him through the phone. And then moulded my face into a perfect little smile to be ready for Kotone.

"Hi there, Saki-chan!" she called out, cheerful as always.

"Hey there," I said. "Naoya tells me you've been solving all his clues for him? I never knew you were such a genius!"

Kotone's still at that age where you can get anywhere with a little flattery.

"Um... they weren't very hard clues," she said.

"I bet that's not true," I said. "Come on, tell me about some of them."

"Well, our last clue was one of those badges that Irie-sensei gives me when I've been a good girl, so that was easy," she said. "Before that –"

"Don't tell her any more," Naoya's voice cut in. "All right, Saki-chan, that's enough trying to wheedle information out of us. You have to learn to accept defeat sometimes."

"Aww, come on!" I said. "You can at least tell me if you know anyone who's a painter..."

_Beep_. The call was disconnected. I looked round at Miaka and grinned.

"Well?" she said. "That didn't sound like much of a success."

"That's just what I want them to think," I retorted. "I've got them just where I want them now. They know _our_ clue and we don't know theirs, so they'll try to steal ours first. And their last clue was at the clinic, so we know where they're coming from. Shouldn't be hard to find them!"

Miaka nodded, and we set off at a run. It didn't take us long to reach the clinic – or rather, the last houses before the road leading to the clinic, where we stopped. There was no sign of them.

"Now what?" said Miaka.

"Let's head north. We've just come from the shrine, so it only makes sense the next clue would be close to the north side of the village."

And indeed, a few minutes later we caught sight of Kotone's unmistakable green ponytail swishing behind her. I nodded to Miaka, and we went into stealth mode, creeping forward silently.

Naoya and Kotone soon went into the grounds of one of the houses – an impressively large one, looking quite modern and well-kept, with gleaming white walls and long sloping roofs.

"Who lives here?" Miaka whispered.

I screwed up my face as though this would squeeze the information out of my memory.

"Maihara or something like that. One of Naoya's father's friends."

Naoya and Kotone had gone straight up to the front door and rung the bell. Well, Naoya is getting to the age when people expect him to be more sensible; and a friend of his father might not be too happy to catch him prowling around his garden without announcing himself first. But the clue certainly wouldn't be hidden _inside_ the house, so this was the perfect chance to get ahead of them. I crept round the hedge, silent and invisible, and worked my way around the shed.

_Got it!_ There was a loose brick with a cavity behind it. This _had_ to be the hiding-place. I slithered my hand inside –

– and then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kotone, not even trying to be inconspicuous, though her green hair and bright red shrine maiden's garb put her at a sizable disadvantage.

"What are you doing here?" I said. "Go and find your own clue!"

She gave me a disarmingly sweet smile. "How do you know our clue doesn't lead here?"

I wasn't fooled for a second. "Miaka!" I called out. "Get her!"

Miaka jumped out from where she had been hiding in the hedge. Kotone took one look at her and ran off. Unfortunately for her, the garden was not large (most of the space had been given to enlarging the house), and there was nowhere for her to go except right past me. I leapt onto her and tackled her to the ground.

"Got you!" I crowed. "Now, it's two against one. As penalty for trying to poach our clue, you have to surrender yours."

Kotone was still smiling. I wasn't actually going to hurt her; and if I had managed to score a victory, she would just save it up and try to find a way to pay me back later. As we always did.

"Here you go." She took an envelope from her pocket and handed it over. "Can I go now?"

I got off her and let her get to her feet, which she did with a quiet dignity. She smiled at me, and then started to walk off. I frowned. Something wasn't right. Was this all a ploy to distract us while Naoya took our clue? But he was talking with Maihara or whatever his name was, and the old man wasn't going to let him go without a cup of tea at the very least. Still, just to reassure myself, I had to make sure the clue was still there. I felt again in the cavity in the wall. It was gone.

I swivelled round, but Kotone had gone, leaving the garden gate swinging behind her.

"No!" I cried. I couldn't believe this. It wasn't just that I'd been tricked; what really hurt was that I couldn't even see how it had been done. Kotone hadn't been anywhere near the hiding-place, and Naoya was stuck inside the house...

Then I had to slap myself in the face for being so stupid. _Kizuna_, of course. Kotone and Kizuna would always help each other out, even when they were on different teams!

There was nothing for it now but to admit we'd lost this round. But we could still win the game! I now had the clue Kotone had given me. But she and Naoya had probably worked out at least the general location before I phoned them. So, it made sense that she was headed there now. The clue they'd stolen from us would wait - Kotone _knew_ that I'd not had time to look at it.

"Come on, Miaka!" I called out. "We've got to catch Kotone!" And after all, if there's one thing Kotone can't do, it's run. She would stand no chance against us, especially in her ceremonial outfit that just isn't designed for fast running.

And so, yet again, we were running through the village streets, with Miaka effortlessly outpacing me. And each time I struggled to catch my breath, I filed it as one more injury that I would have to pay Miaka back for. Kotone had a good head start on us, but we soon had her in sight. We would catch her.

And then I felt something touch my skin. Was that a drop of rain? I came to a stop and looked up. How had I not noticed it growing darker? It had gone from a bright afternoon to as dark as night in a few minutes. There was an odd stillness – the usual sounds of the village had died away, and were replaced by the shrill whistling of the wind through the trees on the hillside. The rain came down, faster and faster. The road was uneven, and puddles formed very quickly, and drops landed in them with a monotonous drumbeat.

Miaka slid to a halt next to me. "We're going to get soaked," she said. "Let's forget Kotone and get under shelter."

"Good idea," I said at once.

"Where shall we go? Your house?"

The wind seemed to wrap itself around me in an icy blanket.

"I know somewhere that's closer. Follow me!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

I'm back! And very excited to be updating again. Though I must explain, life is still very difficult for me at the moment, and updates will be slow for a while.

However, I haven't neglected RTH completely while I've been away. I'm now up to Part IV Chapter 10 in the draft, which is the furthest ahead I've ever been. It's a little tricky to flip back and forth between the two parts – but it does have the benefit that now, as I return to the beginning of Part III, I know exactly how the arc will play out, which hopefully will help to make it more coherent and require less revision later. (Also, Saki is enormous fun to write.)

I should warn you that this arc gets very dark later on, even by _Higurashi_ standards. That wasn't part of my original intention. During the first draft of this arc, I reached a block at one point, and sorting out the chronology of how Part III relates to Part II led to a sequence of events I hadn't expected. Nevertheless, once I reached that point, I realised that those were the _right_ events, "what really happened", as Tolkien would put it. I don't like making my characters suffer, but sometimes it's what I have to do.

Hope you enjoy the arc, and please leave me a review!


	37. Part III Ch 2 When the Cicadas Cry

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**2  
><strong>**When the Cicadas Cry**

The door creaked in protest as I tugged it open. The passage beyond was dark, and heavy with dust in the air. A large cobweb hung over the doorframe. Beyond was an empty corridor with a wooden floor, and here and there a black gap where a floorboard was missing or rotted away. The paint on the walls had faded to a mucky grey, with cracks running up and down it like black vines. No sound came from inside the house – at least, none that we could make out, with the rain and wind still battering the ground around us. I glanced behind me to see whether Miaka was the type to be easily scared. Kotone and Kizuna don't dare to come here, and that's why it's such a great place to come when I want some time to be alone.

But Miaka just pushed past me and shut the door behind us. Too vigorously. It blew dust straight in our faces, and I choked a little and rubbed my eyes. We were almost in total darkness now. There was a window in the side wall, framed by what was left of the moth-eaten curtains, but the clouds were so heavy now that the light coming through was faint and fitful. Now that we were inside, we began to hear sounds, coming from above us: the rain drumming on the floor through an open or missing window somewhere, and a door swaying and groaning in the wind.

Miaka turned her head upwards, and listened.

"Is there someone up there?" she said after a while.

"Oh, only the ghosts, if you believe in that sort of thing," I laughed.

"How long has this house been empty?"

"Since before I was born," I said. "No-one ever comes here now."

"Not even the tramps?"

"Heh, city girl," I chuckled. "We don't have tramps in Hinamizawa. The Sonozaki family wouldn't stand for it."

Miaka coughed.

"Are you okay?" I said.

"Just a bit cold." Now that she mentioned it, I was shivering a little. The rainwater was beginning to soak through my clothes and sting my skin. "I don't suppose there's any chance of a cup of tea?"

"Whyever not?" I said. "Come on up, and make yourself at home!"

The look of astonishment on her face was simply delicious.

I sprang up the stairs. They made such a lovely creak under my heavy footfall, it was almost like music. Miaka followed, more cautiously.

"Come on up!" I called out. "The stairs won't hurt you. Well, except for the sixth, it fell through a couple of years ago. Gave me a real fright."

At the top of the stairs was a long corridor. There was a bit more light here, coming from a round window at the far end. But all it revealed was specks of dust dancing in the air. The walls were bare and grimy, and the only furnishing was the skeleton of a lampshade. The second door on the right was so rotten, it had split in half, and a blast of cold air came through it as we passed. Miaka looked very uncomfortable, huddling herself tight to keep out the cold, and staring at me as though she wondered whether this was all an elaborate practical joke. I just smiled.

I went up to the last door on the left, and eased it open, and then turned around and bowed to Miaka. "Welcome to my den!"

Miaka came up to me and looked inside. And gasped. If her astonishment had been delicious before, this time it was truly a feast for the eyes.

I discovered the house three years ago. Toyonaga Hitomi was the club leader then – she's gone away to university now. I don't miss her. She always made sure everyone kept in line, and her punishment games were harsh. You would have to wait on her like a servant for a week, or, if she was in a particularly vindictive mood, spend an afternoon going up to strangers and calling out "I love you!" More than once, I tried to run away to avoid the punishments, and when I was caught, she would have given me an extra punishment for that, if Akito hadn't intervened.

And then one day I found the empty house. It was perfect. Hitomi had a horror of getting herself dirty. She would never think to look for me somewhere like this. I just had to keep still and be silent, and she would give up searching for me sooner or later. But it was a cold autumn day, and the wind kept finding its way through the cracks and rubbing its icy blade against my cheeks. I huddled in a shivering heap and waited. The hours passed, more slowly than I had ever known. But Hitomi never found me that day.

So I decided to make that house my special place. I would choose one room and fill it with creature comforts, and it would become not just a refuge, but a second home. I asked Akito casually if he had a spare blanket I could have, and he gave me a cast-off from one of the servants. It was a garish pink, and the stuffing was beginning to fall out, but it made the den more home-like at once. A week later, I got him to give me a cushion. It didn't match the blanket, but who cared? And so, slowly, one little thing at a time so that no-one would know what I was doing, I built my den. Naoya gave me a heater and a kettle. I couldn't get those from Akito without him asking curious questions, but with Naoya, I could just say that I wanted them, and that would be that. As for mugs and plates, the Sonozakis always lent those to Rika when there was a festival, and the club members would help to shift them. And no-one would notice if just one or two went missing. Teas and snacks were easy enough to take from Mother's kitchen. She has a huge collection of different kinds of tea. I also helped myself to canned food and bottled drinks, anything that would last, just a little whenever I could get it. By the end of the year, I had enough to withstand a siege.

Hitomi graduated school and left the village without ever discovering my secret.

Now, as I showed Miaka into the room, our eyes were met with a dazzling array of colour. I had put up yellow wallpaper decorated with flowers, warm red curtains, and a landscape on the wall. The floor was covered by a circle of cushions, piled high so that you could jump on them and bounce. Against the wall was a collection of manga and games, with blankets draped over them to keep off the dust. A number of teddy bears sat around the kotatsu, with plastic plates in front of them as if they were having a tea party. I even had a wardrobe containing some spare clothing, though not very much, as Mother would have noticed if my clothes started going missing.

Miaka couldn't say a word. She just gazed around the room with awestruck eyes.

I grinned. "It's quite something, huh?"

"It's amazing! You did all this?"

"Uh-huh."

"How long did it take you?"

"I've been coming here for nearly three years."

"Wow." She shook her head repeatedly. "I wish I had a den like this."

I shot her a glance. "You feel like you need to get away from people sometimes?"

"Don't we all?" Miaka said with a smile. "It must be so peaceful here."

"Sure thing," I said. "It's lovely and quiet. Except of course for the wind always blowing through the house, the doors creaking, footsteps on the stairs..."

"Footsteps?"

I laughed and nudged her. "Ooh, are you scared?"

"Not at all, just curious," said Miaka. "Why don't you make us some tea, and tell me all about it?"

"Sure thing," I said. And I leapt onto a large blue cushion, which buckled under me with a satisfying squelch. I dug the kettle out from its hiding-place, and uncovered my selection of teas.

"Uh, I'm not bothered," she said after staring at them for a while. "Whatever you like."

"Fine by me, but don't ever let Mother hear you say that."

She chuckled, and we sat down together and sipped our tea. It was a lovely cosy feeling, to be inside, getting warm again, while the rain was still battering the street just outside the window.

"So, what are these footsteps?"

"Oh, that," I said. "Sometimes when I come here, if I'm here for a long time, I don't hear them at first, but when everything else begins to melt away into silence, sometimes you can _just_ hear a slow, steady creaking, like someone tiptoeing up or down the stairs, as if they don't want you to notice them. Then, if you listen _really_ hard, you can hear a gentle tapping in the corridor, like someone treading _ever_ so lightly across the floorboards, coming towards you... but if you open the door and look out, there's never anyone there."

I looked up at Miaka to see if she was scared. She just looked mildly curious.

"A ghost?" she asked.

"It could be a demon." I grinned. "Kotone's terrified of demons. That's why she won't come near this place."

"But you think it's a ghost," said Miaka.

"Well..." I took a slow sip of tea. "Let's just say there are stories about this house..."

"What kind of stories?"

I didn't answer for a while. I put my tea down, crossed over to the window, and peered out through the crack in the curtains.

"What are you doing?" said Miaka.

"Just checking the weather. If I'm going to start telling you ghost stories, and you get scared, you know that we're stuck here until the rain dies down..."

"I don't scare that easily."

"Anyway, it's getting dark," I said. "I should light a candle."

I went over to a little cupboard, which somehow remained mostly intact from the original furnishings of the house. I got out a set of scented candles, which I got in Okinomiya as a prize in a Monopoly contest. I placed one in the centre of the table and lit it. All at once, the air around us seemed to grow heavy and solid, as if it was holding us still until the tale was told. A wisp of smoke rose up and swirled around, hovering over us and watching. I spread myself out on the cushions.

Miaka knelt elegantly on the floor and waited for me to begin.

"So, they say that the man who used to live in this house – I don't know how long ago it was, or his name or any other details. But he had an evil reputation. He was some kind of crook or swindler, but the police were never able to catch him. And he had a nasty temper. He never made any friends. The villagers all feared and avoided him. But he didn't care; he just wanted to be left in peace to gloat over his ill-gotten gains." I slowed down, savouring every word; I noticed that Miaka was leaning forward and drinking them in. "But then his brother died, leaving behind a little girl who was now an orphan. He was her only remaining relative. He took her into his home. Not out of the goodness of his heart, you can be sure of that. But he thought she could be useful to him, as a servant. So he beat her to make her submissive. If she didn't do exactly what he ordered, or if she didn't do it well enough, he beat her. If she complained, he beat her some more. And they say that if you come here at night, sometimes you can still hear her voice, sobbing as she holds back the tears, or counting under her breath to pass the time and make the pain go away..."

Miaka was a more sensitive soul than I had given her credit for. She looked so utterly woebegone, it was hard not to laugh.

"But how could they just let that happen?" she said. "The villagers, I mean. Why didn't the Sonozaki family do anything?"

I shook my head. "That's a matter of village politics. You wouldn't understand."

"I certainly don't understand how anyone could turn a blind eye to something like that," Miaka said heatedly.

"Why, does nothing like that ever happen in the city?" I retorted.

There was a long silence.

"Is there any more to the story?" said Miaka. "What happened to the wicked uncle?"

I nodded. "Well, his niece did have one friend. A boy who was a bit like you; he didn't understand why no-one was prepared to do anything. So he decided to take matters into his own hands. He decided to murder the uncle."

Miaka shuddered. The word "murder" always has that kind of magical effect, no matter how much you think a victim deserved what he got.

"How did he do it?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know for sure, so I'll just tell you the most common version of the story, all right? He waited until the day of the Watanagashi festival, when there would be no-one around to see him. He knew the uncle wouldn't go to the festival. And he went out alone, up the Okinomiya road, and dug a deep pit. And then he phoned the uncle, pretending to be the police, and insisted that he come to the police station in Okinomiya right away. And then he got a heavy baseball bat, went back up the road to where the pit was – and waited."

I paused and grinned. This was the best part of the story.

"So, picture the scene," I said. "A lonely road, in the middle of the woods, with trees thick on both sides. You could disappear there, and you would never be found. Twilight had fallen. The cicadas were chirping so loudly, you couldn't hear a footstep. If you got off your bicycle, someone could come up to you, and you wouldn't notice a thing until they were right behind you. And it was raining heavily. A person waiting for you at the edge of the road would be just a black shadow.

"So, along comes the wicked uncle on his bicycle. He has his head down and he's pedalling hard. He wants to get this over with and get back to his nice warm bath. All his attention is focused on that. And then – wham! The boy leaps out and strikes him. He comes crashing off his bicycle."

Miaka was perfectly still, listening as though in a trance.

"One moment he's riding along, and the next, there he is in the mud at the side of the road. He doesn't know what just happened or why. And as he looks up, he sees this huge black shape hovering above him. He can't see who or what it is. Perhaps he only sees a faint glint of light reflecting on the surface of the bat. He doesn't have time to react. The boy brings it straight down, smash, into his face. He cries out in pain, but he's too badly stunned to move. He can't do anything except lie there, and the boy strikes him with the bat, again and again and again..."

Miaka whimpered.

I blinked. "Squeamish?"

"Not at all," she said. "Go on."

"Well, the boy read detective stories, so he knew that if the police couldn't identify the body, it would be harder for them to get on the track of the killer. So he smashed the man's head with his bat until he didn't have a face any more. The rain was still pouring down all the while, taking no notice of what was happening in the mortal world. And, at last, the boy cried out with exultation that his enemy was dead, and he rolled the body into the pit and covered it up."

"And... that's it?" said Miaka. "Did the body ever get found? I suppose it must have done, or no-one would know what happened."

"I don't know," I said. "This is just a version I've heard. It might be all made up."

"Well, what do the people say happened, then?"

I took a deep breath. "They say that the ghost of the murdered man came back to this house to lie in wait for his killer. But he never found him – and so the ghost is still here, still angry, and still waiting. We're safe here in the daytime, but if anyone is foolish enough to come here at twilight, when the cicadas cry, then the ghost takes his revenge. And their bodies are found the next day with no face..."

Miaka trembled.

"Aha!" I laughed. "That really _did_ scare you!"

"Not at all," she said quickly. "It's just... well, it must be later than I realised."

I sat still for a moment and listened. Yes, Miaka was quite right. Evening had come on quickly, and in the distance, the cicadas were warming up once more for their nightly chorus. It was still raining heavily, and I began to wonder whether we would be able to get home at all. Would the streets have turned into rivers by now? Well, it didn't matter. As I've said, I had enough food and drink in my den to last out a siege.

"How would you feel about spending the night here?" I said. "Nervous?"

"Not at all," she said. "This is a lovely den you have here, Saki-chan. I think I'll just curl up and fall right asleep."

And she curled up on the cushions, looking for all the world like a little ginger kitten.

Well, if she wasn't going to talk, I might as well make myself comfortable. I lifted the blanket off my collection of manga. That's one thing to be said in favour of Hitomi: she was always happy to pass on her old favourites once she grew tired of them, including a nearly complete set of _Sailor Moon_. Not exactly my own favourite, but a fun way to pass the time. I relaxed.

There was a heavy creaking sound from somewhere on the lower floor. Not just the soft moans of a door buffeted by the wind, but a slow, deep groaning.

Miaka sat up sharply. "Is there someone else in the house?"

"Can't be," I said. "We'd have heard the front door open."

"But then... what was that noise?"

I chuckled. "Miaka-chan, you're _scared_!"

"Honestly, I'm not," she said. "But if there is a tramp or something..."

"I told you, there are no tramps in Hinamizawa." I didn't look up from the manga.

"Well, there's _someone_ there," she said sharply. "I'm going to look. Saki-chan, stay here."

She got to her feet. At once, I did the same.

"Are you kidding?" I glared at her. "I'm not letting you go into danger alone!"

"All right. But stay close by me."

I nudged her. "That'll help you feel less scared, will it?"

"Oh, stop it." She looked around the room, and picked up a descant recorder. "Let's go."

"If you break that..."

She ignored me, and put a finger to her lips. We went out into the passage, and stopped again to listen. The house was so full of small noises, and the air still heavy with the shrilling of the wind outside, that it was hard to be sure of what we were hearing. I was used to this house, and _knew_ there was nothing to be afraid of, but even so, I couldn't stop myself jumping whenever a sudden noise stood out, a dull thud or a scraping sound that could have been anything.

I shook my head. "There's no-one here. Let's go back inside."

Miaka frowned thoughtfully, and stood for a moment longer.

Then, from somewhere on the lower floor, came an unmistakable thump, like some heavy object falling.

We both froze.

And then I burst out laughing.

"If only I had a camera! The look on your face –"

"Saki-chan," Miaka said in a forceful whisper. "Shut up. There's someone downstairs."

"Nah, it was just something falling over in the wind. If there really was an intruder, they'd have better things to do than going round making _scaaary_ noises."

"Stay close beside me," she whispered. "I'm going downstairs."

I slipped my arm into hers. "Aww, does ickle Miaka-chan want me to hold her?"

"I want you to _be quiet_."

I was quiet. Not because I felt a duty to obey Miaka, but because it was more fun that way.

Miaka led me forward to the top of the stairs, and we looked down. The front door was still closed, and the hallway looked just as we had left it – except much darker, for the night was descending fast. Rainwater had collected in puddles along the floor, patches of light that glistened in the darkness.

As soon as we stopped, we felt at once how much colder the rest of the house was after spending time in my den. The night came in through cracks in the floorboards, holes where mice had nibbled away at the walls, everywhere. An icy blast of wind came through the broken door behind us and flicked up Miaka's hair. She looked for a moment as if a halo of fire surrounded her.

Miaka looked uncertainly down the stairs. I could tell what she was feeling: that it would be much more pleasant to go back to the den and have another cup of tea.

"Come on," she said at last.

For once, I didn't make a joke. I could feel in the tension of her hand that she really was frightened. She was counting on me for support!

We walked slowly down the stairs together. There were no more unexpected noises. Miaka listened out and grimaced, as if she was beginning to wonder whether we imagined them.

"What's that?" she said, pointing at the floor.

All right, I couldn't resist just one more joke. I peered down at the patch where she was pointing. "Mr Holmes, it's the footprints of a gigantic hound!"

"No, I'm serious. Look at the mud. Someone _has_ been this way."

I looked, but I couldn't see what she meant. "It's just mud."

"Something heavy has been dragged through it. What's through that door?" She pointed.

"Well, it used to be the kitchen, but it's all been ripped to pieces a long time ago."

"Is there a cellar, or anything under the house?"

I stopped. "Miaka-chan, why do you ask that?"

"Well – that noise sounded like it might be coming from the cellar."

"There is one, but you don't want to go that way," I said quickly.

"Whyever not?"

I gulped. "Well, in the story, that was where the uncle took his niece when she'd earned an extra beating, so that the neighbours wouldn't hear her screams," I said quietly. It was a long time ago, but all the same, no-one likes to be reminded that such things went on in the place that is now their special refuge. That's why I've never been into the cellar. I don't want to see it. It would make the whole story much too horribly real.

Miaka nodded. She didn't like the prospect either.

"We could just leave," I said. "Let's go home."

"In this weather?"

"Well –"

She had a point. The rain was still going on, as relentlessly as ever. The streets would be more like canals by now, and I didn't have a boat to hand.

"I want to get to the bottom of this," said Miaka.

"All right. This way."

I led her through the kitchen to the cellar door. Someone, probably soon after the house had become empty, had hacked out the lock so as to raid the cellar of anything valuable, and the door now teetered dolefully on a single hinge. Beyond it, there was only a dark space from which a thick and musty smell was rising.

Miaka stopped and hesitated in the doorway.

"Don't like it?" I said. "I guess it is rather dank..."

"I suppose there's no light," said Miaka.

"Maybe the ghost of one."

"You and your ghosts!" she said. "Why am I getting the impression that you're scared?"

"I am _not!_"

I glared up at her, and she grinned back down at me. "Scaredy-cat!"

That was _it_. I wasn't going to take that. I pushed past her and almost ran down the stairs.

"Saki, wait up!" Miaka called after me. She really was frightened.

"What's up?" I shouted back. "Need me up there to hold your hand?"

"Saki, you shouldn't just run on ahead like that! What if there's a stair missing?"

"I'm fine, honest!"

"What's it like down there? Do you hear anything?"

I stopped and listened. Something was rustling in the darkness. Probably rats. At least, I hoped it was only rats. The air was moist and putrid. I wanted to retch.

"I'm fine, but I think I'd better come back up. Hang on, where did the stairs go? I was sure they were here..."

I bumped into something and cried out.

"Are you all right, Saki-chan?"

"Yeah, I just tripped. I can't find the stairs. Miaka, run back up to the den and get my torch! It's on the top shelf, in the middle next to the CD player."

Miaka ran off, and I was alone in the darkness. Cautiously, I bent down to examine the object I had stumbled over. It was bulky, but it rolled a little when I pushed against it with my leg. I had a sneaking suspicion that I didn't want to share with Miaka, in case I scared her. I moved my hand down – slowly – until, just about the height of my knees, it came into contact with fabric. I caught my breath. I felt around until I reached the edge of the fabric. My hand fell on something that was cold, moist, and sticky.

"Miaka... please hurry up," I whispered into the darkness.

Then I heard running footsteps, and Miaka panting towards the top of the stairs. She clicked on the torch, and a powerful beam of light streamed down towards me – and towards the object that lay on the floor in front of me.

And that was when I discovered what a man with no face looks like.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Updates will continue to be slow for the foreseeable future. However, I have some good news. I have now _finished_ the draft of Part IV. This reaches three important landmarks: the end of the "question arcs", _one third_ of the entire saga, and the start of Part V. I won't spoil the surprise, but the fifth arc is going to be something quite different, and one that I've been looking forward to writing for a long time. So I'm pretty excited about where RTH is going right now...


	38. Part III Ch 3 My Family

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**3  
><strong>**My Family and Other Anomalies**

Night had fallen by the time I left the house. The rain had slackened off, but the water still lay in deep trenches along the streets. I shuffled along awkwardly, holding up my skirt to stop it trailing in the mud. Even so, I got badly splattered whenever my foot slipped into a dip that it was too dark to see. The air was biting cold, and my stomach had still not recovered from the shock of what we discovered in the cellar. I wanted nothing more than to be back home in bed, curling up under the blanket with a hot water bottle and a manga volume. So you can understand why I was hurrying.

That's why I didn't see the man until I ran straight into him. He had more reason not to see me. He was standing outside our gate, leaning over it and tugging on the latch, trying to work out why it wouldn't open. He didn't know that it doesn't open unless you press a lever with your foot at the same time. It's one of Mother's inventions – to keep out salesmen and other unwelcome visitors, but it can be awkward when someone new to the village comes calling.

He cried out in pain as my head rammed into his stomach. I bounced off him and fell splat into a puddle. He stood stunned for a moment, and then remembered his manners and helped me to my feet, apologising profusely.

"No, it was my fault," I said. "Um... can I help you?"

"Perhaps you can. I seem to be having some trouble with this gate..."

I reached past him and undid the latch. "I take it you've had a long journey."

He blinked at me with round, owlish eyes. "Yes, I came from Tokyo. How did you know?"

"From your suit," I said with a smile.

He was a small old man with grey hair, carrying an umbrella and a briefcase, dressed in a black suit that might have been smart when he set off that morning, but was now sodden and bedraggled. It was not at all what one would go outside wearing if it had already started to rain.

"Oh, I see," he said, nodding. "I apologise for arriving at such a late hour. The trains were awkward."

"It's not a problem," I said with a polite bow. "Are you here on business?"

"Yes, I have some business to discuss with Fujiura Satoko-san, if this is indeed her house."

"That's right. She's my mother. I'm Fujiura Saki. Pleased to meet you!"

He bowed. "Your mother must be proud to have such a courteous and helpful child."

"Now, now, we don't have time for small talk," I said. "Let's get inside."

I led the way down the path, and showed the man how to navigate the trapdoor in front of the entrance. I rang the bell vigorously. I didn't want to stay outside any longer than I had to!

The door opened a moment later, and Aunt Azusa glared down at me. She's the sister of my father, who died when I was a baby, or so they tell me. I have no memory of him. As far as I'm concerned, the three of us have always been a family. And Azusa gets just as cross with me when I misbehave as Mother does. It's almost as bad as having two mothers.

"_Saki!_" she almost screamed. "Where on earth have you been?"

"Sheltering from the rain," I said succinctly.

"Well, I don't blame you, but you could at least have sent us a text to let us know where you were! We've both been worried sick!"

I said nothing, which I've found is often the wisest course of action in such a situation.

Then Azusa looked up and noticed our visitor for the first time. She bowed profusely, clearly embarrassed at having let him overhear her telling me off. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Please, come in! And thank you so much for finding Saki and bringing her safely home."

The man gave her a weak smile. "I fear there has been a misunderstanding," he said as he stepped inside and closed the door. "We merely happened to arrive at the house at the same time."

"Oh, I see. Then – I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"My name is Eda Manabu, of the legal firm of Eda and Shibatani. I'm here to discuss some matters with Fujiura Satoko-san. I apologise for arriving at such a late hour. Once I reached Okinomiya, in view of the weather, I decided to take shelter in a café and complete my journey once the rain had slackened a little. Unfortunately, after some hours, it showed no sign..."

Azusa decided it was about time she stemmed his flow. "Please come through to the living-room," she said. "Satoko's upstairs at the moment. Saki, go and fetch her down."

I ran upstairs and called out to Mother, and then disappeared into my bedroom before she could come out and see the state of my dress. I hastily got changed and towelled my hair – which made it look a complete mess, like the fur of some wild animal, but there was no time to straighten it. I had to get down and see what they were all talking about.

When I entered the sitting-room, our visitor had been made comfortable, and Azusa had offered him a towel and a cup of tea. Mother sat opposite him, waiting patiently while he made sure that she really was the correct Fujiura Satoko (maiden name Houjou), daughter of Houjou Aki (maiden name Suzuki) and so on and so forth.

"And your stepfather, Houjou Kunio. He had a brother, is that correct?"

"That is correct," Mother said, rather coldly. I know that she regards the past, and the Houjou family in particular, as something she is glad to have escaped from.

"Forgive me if this is painful to you, Fujiura-san. I understand that your stepfather's brother was Houjou Teppei, who was convicted in 1983 of the murder of Mamiya Rina."

"Yes, that's right. I hope you're not here to tell me he's been released?"

"No, quite the contrary," said Eda. "Houjou Teppei died earlier this month, still in prison."

"I'm afraid I will not be mourning," said Mother. "So, how does this concern us?"

Eda took a folder out of his briefcase, and took a large sheaf of papers out of the folder, and coughed as he leafed through them. "Here we are," he said. "The will of the late Houjou Teppei. I cannot read you the whole document, but the clause that concerns you is as follows: 'To my niece, Houjou Satoko, daughter of my late brother Houjou Kunio and his wife Aki, I leave my house in the village of Hinamizawa, Gifu Prefecture...' "

"His _house_?" Mother said sharply. "Why would he leave me his house?"

"Why should he not? I understand that you are his only living relative..."

Mother shook her head. "I have an older brother."

"When was the will made?" Azusa cut in.

"In June 1982. I understand that his wife, Tamae, died in that month, and he felt the need to alter his testamentary dispositions."

"That would explain why Satoshi-kun isn't mentioned." Azusa turned to Eda. "You see, at the same time as Tamae's death, Satoshi disappeared, and was believed to be dead."

"And he never made a new will in the twenty years since then?" said Mother.

"He did not. It is not such an unusual thing. Many people go through life and never get round to making a will at all, always believing there will be time for it later."

"But why leave the house to me?" Mother said again. "He _hated_ me."

"As to that, I cannot say," said Eda. "Perhaps he simply wished it to remain in the family. Perhaps, after all, he felt some regret for the bad feeling between you..."

"Not Teppei. He would never."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Mother," I said, after I felt it had gone on for long enough, "which house is this?"

"Oh, you know the one. The abandoned house down the road from Tomita's, the one that's been empty since forever."

"What!" I cried. I nearly fell off my perch on the end of the sofa. This wasn't real; I _must_ have heard wrongly, or misunderstood, or something. "_That_ was your uncle's house?"

She gave me a very strange look. "Why, yes. What's got into you, Saki?"

"You... you can't inherit that house!" I said wildly. "Kotone says it's plagued by demons!"

Mother sighed indulgently. "Kotone-chan sees demons everywhere. That's the curse of the Sonozakis."

"But..."

I was trembling. I couldn't think of anything to say. _That_ house... this was terrible! Mother would find my den – no, I had to get everything out of there as fast as possible! I _couldn't_ let her know about the den. She would find all the things I had taken from her –

I suddenly became aware that all three of them were looking at me. Mother was annoyed, Azusa rather alarmed, and Eda seemed to be just curious, though he was difficult to read.

"Saki?" said Azusa. "Is something the matter?"

"No, not at all," I said quickly. I gave an apologetic bow. "I was just surprised, that's all."

_Surprised_ is an understatement. It made no sense. Why had Mother never told me that her uncle used to live in the cursed house? How was he connected to the story? Had he been one of the victims? But he had escaped alive. Perhaps the woman he was said to have killed, I had already forgotten her name, had been taken by the ghost, and her face smashed up like that man...

I writhed in a sudden convulsion. I was about to be sick again.

Eda bowed to Mother. "I'm sorry to have dropped this news on you so suddenly," he said. "Fujiura-san, there are some documents that we need to go over with you. Would it be possible for you to come to our branch office in Shishibone, whenever it's convenient for you?"

"Yes. Shall we say tomorrow afternoon, at two o'clock?"

That was all I needed to know. With no further regard for politeness, I jumped up and hurried out of the room. I ran upstairs, shut myself in my room and shoved a basket containing my old toys in front of the door. Then I phoned Akito.

"Huh, Saki-chan?" he said. "What do you want, at this time? … Look, I'm sorry about the game. I didn't know it was going to rain like that. But we can carry on with the treasure hunt after school tomorrow –"

"No, it's not that," I said quickly. "We can't play games tomorrow. Call it off. I've got something to say to the club. I'm going to need everyone's help."

"Saki?" he said after a pause. "What's going on?"

"I can't tell you now, Akito, I'm exhausted. Just promise me that you'll get everyone to listen to me... that you'll help me out."

"Well, of course, if there's really something wrong," he said slowly. "Saki, are you –"

I cut him off, fell onto the bed, and huddled up with my head buried in the pillow. Time passed. I couldn't move. I felt as if a curse had been called down upon me, and there was nothing I could do to ward it off. I had laughed at the story of the ghost. I had never really believed in it. Did that mean I _deserved_ what was coming to me?

There was a knock on the door. I ignored it.

I remained curled up in exactly the same position until sleep finally took me.

* * *

><p>"So, what <em>is<em> all this about?" said Akito.

It was after school the next day, and as usual, the club members had stayed behind and gathered around. The day had been warm and sunny, and I felt better from the moment I woke up. What had I been thinking? Of course there were no such thing as ancient curses that actually had the power to hurt people in modern times. There was no ghost waiting in the old house to take its terrible vengeance on anyone who stayed there after dark. And _of course_ I didn't deserve to be frightened out of my wits, dragged through the mud and drenched to the core of my soul. How could I? I'm a cute little girl, sweet-natured and kind to everyone, and everyone loves me.

All through the day, I had caught Akito glancing at me, wondering what was going on. At lunch time he took me to one side and asked directly. But I refused to answer. It was much better to tell the others all at once, and to wait until after school when we could be sure no-one else was around. I would have preferred to leave the younger girls out of this; I couldn't see what help they could be, and I didn't entirely trust them not to blab. But they were my friends. As we sat round our table at the end of the day, and I saw their anxious eyes fixed on me, I knew that I had to trust them. Miaka, too – even though we'd only known each other for two weeks, she liked me and cared about me. I suppose that being cute inspires the desire to nurture and protect.

I waited until I heard the door close behind Aunt Shion as she left the building. The other five were all sat in silence, waiting. I launched into the story, calling on Miaka at intervals to confirm the details. The others were suitably impressed when I told them about my den. Akito raised his eyes and breathed heavily as the truth sunk in, the explanation behind all those little things I'd asked him for. Naoya just blinked a few times; his expression never changes much. Kotone and Kizuna gazed at me in wide-eyed surprise and admiration.

Then I went on, describing the noises we had heard, how we had decided to explore the cellar, and our discovery of the body. I left out the details of what it actually looked like; it would have given the younger girls nightmares. Even so, they still looked pretty horrified.

"I told you you should stay away from that house," said Kotone.

"It's all right," I said breezily. "The demons didn't get us."

"But, Saki," said Akito, "if this is really true –"

"It _is!_" I cried. "Miaka, you tell him –"

Akito held up his hand. "All right, I believe you," he said. "But this is really serious. The man must have been murdered, and I'd guess that someone dumped his body in the empty house because they thought it wouldn't be found there. This is a matter for the police."

"_No!_" I cried. "Akito, we can't tell them!"

"Why not?" said Naoya. "Saki-chan, Akito's right –"

"But we _can't_!" I insisted. "If we do that, Mother will find out I was in the old house, and she'll want to know what I was doing there, and she'll find my den, and all the things I've taken, and..." I ground to a halt. Yeah, I wasn't exactly telling you the whole truth in the last chapter. There's a lot more there that I wouldn't want Mother to know about.

Naoya sighed. "Saki, it's not that I don't sympathise," he said. "But murder is serious. We can't collude in hiding it from the police."

"But if we tell them, they might think we did it!"

"Nonsense," Akito said firmly. "No-one would believe an eleven-year-old girl could beat a fully grown man to death. I know you're strong, but you're not _that_ strong. Besides, the Fujiuras are a respectable family. There's not a person in the village who won't put in a good word for you."

I had to smile at that. It's always nice to feel appreciated.

"But what about Miaka?" I said. "She's a stranger in the village, _and_ she's just recovered from the Hinamizawa Syndrome. People will start asking: what if she's had a relapse?"

"You don't think –," Miaka said faintly.

Akito put a hand gently on her shoulder. "We all know you didn't do it," he said. "You're our friend, and we trust you. Though Saki does have a point. The rest of the villagers –"

"But from your story, it sounds like Miaka was with you from the time you entered the house until you found the body," said Naoya. "I don't see how anyone could accuse her."

"It depends on _when_ the man died," said Akito. "Saki, you said that the body felt cold?"

I nodded.

"Hours at the very least, then. If no-one ever goes into the house, it may even have been days. Even Irie-sensei couldn't guarantee Miaka's whereabouts for the whole time."

"We won't let the police think Miaka did it!" Kizuna said firmly.

"Of course not," said Naoya. "The idea's absurd."

"_Please!_" I turned towards him with the most imploring gaze I could muster. It couldn't possibly fail. "Naoya-kun, please do this for me."

"Why are you so concerned?" he said. "I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Your mother finds out about your den – so what? I refuse to believe you have anything _really_ horrible stashed away there..."

"You don't know," I said with a pout.

He just blinked. "Then tell me."

I shuddered. "Naoya-kun, don't make me! Not in front of the kids... I can't!"

Akito and Naoya looked blankly at each other.

"What do you think?" said Akito.

Naoya shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Perhaps we should do this."

I caught my breath. He was really going to take my side? My charm strikes again!

"How come?"

Naoya took a moment to adjust his glasses. "Well, as you said, the most likely reason for the body being taken to the cellar is that the murderer hoped it wouldn't be discovered. If word gets out that a body has been found there, the killer might start to panic, and that would make him more dangerous. As long as he thinks he's safe, he'll be easier to catch."

"Maybe so – but you're not exactly going to suggest we catch him ourselves?"

"Of course not," said Naoya. "But what about the Sonozaki family? It's on their turf..."

"No!" I squeaked. I wanted to say more, but I was so desperate, I couldn't find the right words. Telling the Sonozakis would be just as bad as telling Mother!

"That might also attract too much attention," Akito said thoughtfully. "And Mother's too peaceable – she would be in favour of leaving it to the police. On the other hand –"

I looked up hopefully. "Yes?"

Akito spoke slowly, as if unwilling to go on. "At the very least, we must get someone to guard the house, if Aunt Satoko has inherited it. Do you know what she plans to do with it?"

I shook my head.

"Well, at least we can assume she's not about to move in," he said. "Still, a house, even an old wreck like that one, should be worth a tidy sum of money. If she decided to refurbish it, she could get back a lot more than she put in."

"What does that have to do with anything?" said Miaka.

"Just that we don't know whether the murderer might come back to hide another body," Akito said grimly. "And we don't want him and Satoko to run into each other. So I'll hire a guard."

"Can you do that without the rest of the family knowing about it?" said Naoya.

"Sure. As the heir to the family, I have a separate expenses account."

"And whom would you hire?"

"Cousin Karen," Akito said without hesitation. "She's a fully trained ninja – and she would keep our secrets, even from the rest of the family."

That sounded promising. "So – you'll do this for me?"

I waited with bated breath. Akito screwed up his face and sat in silence for a long while, looking round at each of the others in turn. Naoya was, as always, expressionless. Miaka seemed to be on my side; she was smiling sympathetically towards me. Kotone looked encouragingly up at her brother. Kizuna just looked worried, as if she was lost deep in thoughts of her own.

"All right," Akito said at last. "We'll do it."

"Friends help you move, but real friends help you move bodies!" said Naoya.

We all looked round in surprise.

"Where did _that_ come from?" said Miaka.

"Uh... just an expression I picked up. I don't really know where it comes from."

"All right," Akito said again. "Kotone, tell Mother I'll be home later this evening. Say that we've gone to Okinomiya if you like; that will stop her asking awkward questions. Kichi, you'd better go with Kotone. As for the rest of us" – he clapped his hands – "let's go and have a look at this corpse of yours."


	39. Part III Ch 4 Sonozaki Removals, Inc

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**4  
><strong>**Sonozaki Removals, Inc.  
><strong>

And so, just a few minutes later, we were back at the abandoned house. It was mid-afternoon, still much too bright for any ghosts to be hanging around. Even so, I was shaking as we got close; I was just so frightened. I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if Mother found out about my den – the lectures, the punishments, and the worst thing of all, simply having to live the rest of my life knowing that she _knew_. Miaka gripped my hand and held it tightly. Well, it certainly made me feel a little better, knowing that she needed me to comfort her like that.

"So, which shall we do first?" said Akito – "look at this corpse or clear out your den?"

"Let's clear the den first," I said. "But it's such a big task –"

"How long have we got?" said Naoya.

"I really don't know," I said. "Mother went to visit that lawyer, Eda, this afternoon. I don't know how long that'll take. They'll probably be going over documents... I don't know if he's going to give her the keys today. She could come here at any moment."

"Then how on earth are we going to get everything out?" said Miaka.

Akito already had his phone out. "Let's just get everything out of the room first. I'll see if I can get Kotone on the house phone, and get her to bring a wheelbarrow." He glanced at me. "Saki, do you want to go first and get rid of any... _sensitive_ items, before letting the rest of us loose?"

I glowered at him. It was obvious from his tone what kind of thing he _thought_ I was talking about. Akito, that might be what _you_ would keep in a secret den, but you don't have to lower the rest of us to your level!

I ran up the stairs. I couldn't leave the others waiting for long, so I just emptied out the drawer under the bed, put the contents into a little bag, and concealed it under my dress. That was the main thing, but I still glanced around to make sure there wasn't anything else I didn't want Akito and the others to see –

I sighed. There, on the kotatsu in plain view, was the cloak of one of Kotone's teddies, which I had purloined to use as a dishcloth. Somehow, I didn't think Akito would be too happy about _that_. Miaka had already seen it, but at least she wouldn't have known where it came from.

I slipped the cloak under a cushion, and called the others up. Naoya had brought some plastic bags, "borrowed" from a store cupboard at school, and for a good half-hour we were all busy stuffing everything that would fit into the bags and piling them all up in the wheelbarrow. When we had finished, the room was as bare and desolate as the rest of the house; there was no colour left at all, only a black ocean of dust-covered floorboards.

We gathered outside, round the back of the house. Kotone hurried towards us; she'd been keeping watch at the front, just in case Mother showed up. I caught my breath. But she smiled and waved to signal that the road was clear; Akito nodded, and she ran away back home.

"Where are we going to _take_ all this?" said Miaka.

"The Labyrinth?" said Naoya.

"No, there's too much danger of someone seeing us entering the grounds," said Akito.

"Then do you have a better suggestion?" said Miaka.

"I thought we could take all this up to the old junkyard. From what I remember, there's an abandoned caravan up there where we would keep everything sheltered from the rain. What do you think, Saki-chan?"

I breathed a deep sigh of relief. "That's a great idea, _senpai_."

"All right," said Akito, "we'll do that."

* * *

><p>We didn't talk much as we went up to the junkyard. I supposed the others felt they didn't want to make any noise in case it attracted attention; but honestly, I wished they could have acted natural, so that if anyone <em>did<em> hear us they would just think we were up to one of our games. Once we were away from the village, both the boys were worn out from pushing the heavy wheelbarrow, and it would have been futile to expect much conversation from them. Miaka and I walked behind them; she was lost in thought, and I knew she would be dwelling on the body in the cellar, wondering who might have killed him, what their motives were, and where the killer might be now. Once or twice, she glanced at me and pursed her lips, as if she were trying to get out a question. Each time, I just looked away. I really didn't want to talk about that right now. The evening was dimming, but it was still warm. Soon, we would be high on the hills, watching the sun go down in the distance. I wanted nothing more than to keep the others busy so that we never had to go back to that house.

The wheelbarrow rounded the final curve and ground to a halt. Akito let go of it and stood up, one shoulder sagging and twitching. He pressed it into his chin and let out a deep sigh.

"All right," he said. "Well done, team. We got that done much faster than I was expecting. But we still have to hurry, as we don't know when Satoko might be getting back. So we'd better just dump all this inside the caravan, and head back to the house. Saki, you can get everything out of the bags and straighten it all out in your own time. That's okay, isn't it?"

"Of course!"

"Hang on a second," said Naoya. "Now that we've cleared out the den, do we really have to move the body as well? Wasn't the whole reason for moving it that we didn't want anyone to find Saki's stuff? So why can't we just go to the police now?"

Akito frowned thoughtfully, and turned towards me. I was surrounded. I backed away.

"Look, we _can't_ go to the police!" I screamed at them. "Now more than ever. Don't you see, we've all gotten our fingerprints all over the house –"

"Why on earth didn't you think of that before? We could have worn gloves!" Akito cried.

Naoya let out a dry chuckle.

Akito span round and glared at him. "What are you laughing at?"

"Don't you see?" said Naoya. "This has all gone according to Saki's plan."

Akito glowered so fiercely that I thought for a moment he was about to spring on me, but Miaka put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, and he held himself back.

"Well, what do _you_ think of all this, Miaka-chan?" he said.

"I don't like it," she said quietly. "Murder... it's not something to play games with. I know we can't go to the police, but... why don't we go and look at the body, and then decide what to do?"

Akito continued to scowl, and said nothing.

"I think that's best," said Naoya. "Remember, we don't have much time."

So we headed back to the house in sullen silence; when Akito was in a mood like this, it spread to the rest of us like a disease. Still, I knew from experience that it would soon pass over.

There was no-one around when we reached the house. I had placed a twig inside the crack of the door, so that we would know if it had been opened. But the twig was still there. I breathed a sigh of relief, and we went inside. The dust blew up around us, and Naoya started to cough.

We were all too preoccupied to pay him much mind. "Where's this cellar?" said Akito.

"I'll show you the way," said Miaka. She headed through the door into the kitchen.

"Wait!" Akito called after her. "I'll go first."

"Why?"

"It's my duty as a man to lead the way."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, intending to push past her, but she brushed him aside.

"I've already seen it, you idiot," she said coldly.

I kept at the back, behind Naoya. I already knew what it looked like. And I didn't want to see it again.

"Gruesome," Naoya said quietly. Was it just me, or was he trembling a little?

Akito stood at a respectful distance and looked down at the corpse. "Looks like he was beaten to death with a baseball bat or something like that," he said. "The whole structure of the face is gone – the bones must be shattered underneath."

"Why?" said Miaka. "I mean – the murderer must have carried on beating him long after he was dead. Did they really hate him that much?"

"I would assume it was done as a precaution, just in case anyone did find the body," said Naoya. "They wanted to make sure it wasn't recognisable."

"Well, they succeeded," said Miaka. "I suppose you don't know who he is."

"No clue," said Akito. He bent down to examine the body more closely. It was amazing, how he managed to stay so calm – though, I suppose, he _is_ a Sonozaki. Even at his age, he must have seen dead bodies before now.

We waited for a minute or so in silence. I pressed my face into the back of Naoya's sweater. It was the only way I could hide from the overwhelming temptation to look.

"Hmm," Akito said at last. "Fairly well-to-do, judging from his clothes. His hand is nice and smooth, so he hasn't done much manual labour. Though his job may have involved carrying something in a shoulder bag, considering that the shoulders are notably uneven..."

"So, in other words, we know nothing of importance," said Naoya.

Akito scowled at him.

"I haven't finished," he said. He reached under the body and pulled out its other hand. At once, there was a sharp glint as something reflected the torchlight.

"It's an engagement ring," said Akito. "So he has a fiancée somewhere. Poor girl, whoever she is. I'm glad I'm not the one who'll have to break the news." He slipped the ring off the finger, and held it up to take a closer look. Even in the dim torchlight, the diamond sparkled like a single star in the night sky.

"What are you going to do with it?" said Miaka.

"Throw it in the swamp, I guess. We can't leave it on the body, just in case it gets found. We can't sell it; when his disappearance is noticed, the police will probably put out a description of the ring. And if I ever have a girlfriend, I'm certainly not giving her a ring taken off a corpse."

The situation was so serious, I couldn't even laugh at the idea of Akito having a girlfriend.

"You can't just throw it away!" cried Miaka. "Do you know how much those are worth?"

"I'm not an expert, but I don't think this is a very valuable one, and my family's rich..."

"Maybe so, but mine isn't," Miaka said heatedly. "I tell you what, give it to me. I'll take it back to Kyoto when I go home in July – I have a friend who'd know how to dispose of it. I'll send you each your share of the money – we'll split it evenly between the four of us."

"Six," Akito said at once, out of habit.

"What?"

"The club's like a family, Miaka," he said sternly. "Anything we do includes _all_ of us."

"Have you both gone mad?" said Naoya. "We can't sell something we took off a dead body! That's theft!"

"He won't miss it."

"But it should be returned to his fiancée..."

"And how do you suggest we find her?"

"We'll know who he is soon enough, most likely. His disappearance will be reported. Then we can send it back anonymously."

There was silence. No doubt Miaka didn't want to seem too grasping.

"All right," said Akito. "And if we _don't_ find out who he is by the time Miaka goes home, then she can sell it. Is that okay?"

"As you please," Naoya said coldly. "But I want no share of it."

"I'll have your share," I said at once. He ignored me.

"Good, so that's settled," said Akito. He handed the ring to Miaka, who slipped it into her pocket.

"Why do you always have to be such a goody-goody, Naoya-kun?" I asked him.

"Someone has to be the voice of reason, especially with _you_ around," he returned.

"Please," said Miaka, "let's not quarrel. Let's just finish this and get out of here."

Akito nodded. "We'll have to cut him up. You two girls might want to step outside."

"Hey!" I said. "I'm not –"

Miaka gently touched my arm. "It's better if we go," she said. "You know what boys are like; they like to have their male bonding rituals. They're very insecure, and they need to believe that we need them to protect us."

"I know," I said. "It's so quaint, isn't it?"

Miaka smiled, and her good humour made me feel better at once. I didn't exactly like leaving Naoya down there with the corpse, when it was clear that he was very uncomfortable. But there was nothing else to be done.

We went upstairs together, and crossed over to the window. It was already growing dark outside. And I could do nothing but stand there and watch, feeling as though my stomach was twisting itself into knots.

"I'm sure they won't be too long," said Miaka. But she didn't sound very sure.

I just shook my head and tried to stay still. Time passed.

There was a loud knock on the front door. We both span round and held our breath.

_Whoever it is, please just let them go away..._

"Saki-chan!" Kotone called out. "Saki, are you in there?"

"Huh?" Miaka and I gave each other a bemused glance. Hadn't Kotone gone home?

"Let me in!"

Miaka hurried over and opened the door. "Kotone-chan? What are you doing here?"

"I had to warn you! Aunt Satoko's coming!"

"What!" I shouted. "Coming _here_?"

She nodded.

"Kotone, _run_," I said. "Don't let her see you. We'll be fine, I promise. Just get out of here."

And, without waiting for a reply, I charged back down the stairs to the cellar.

"Akito, Naoya-kun, _scramble!_ Mother's on her way here!"

"We're nearly done," said Akito. "Help us get these bags up the stairs, and then we can all get out of here."

"Right." I called up the stairs, "Hey, Miaka! Come and give us a hand!"

"Saki-chan," said Naoya, his voice trembling, "she doesn't know... about us being here?"

"No, she's just coming to take a look at the house," Akito said quickly, even though he couldn't be sure. We just had to believe that. There was no time to start worrying. If we hurried, we might _just_ have time to get the body out before Mother arrived. It was all or nothing now: if we were caught after cutting it up and stuffing it into bags, it would be much worse than if we'd just left it alone in the first place. And all of us knew it.

"Here," Akito said, grunting as he lifted a heavy bag. "Saki, take this one."

I wrapped my arms around it, and staggered at the sudden weight as Akito let it go. "Wow, this guy really had a stomach, didn't he?" I said.

"Actually, I think Naoya's carrying his stomach," said Akito.

"Don't make jokes like that," said Miaka.

I couldn't say anything; I was just carrying the bag up the stairs as fast as I could.

By the time I reached the top, I knew that I never wanted to do _that_ again. I dropped the bag and panted, and then quickly grabbed hold of it to stop it falling open. Akito and Naoya were stronger; they managed to bring up two bags each.

"How many more are there?" said Miaka.

"One more trip should do it," said Akito. "Saki, keep watch on the street for us."

I nodded, and slipped over to the door. I opened it a tiny crack, without making any noise, and peeked out. There was no-one in sight.

A minute or so went by. I heard the others emerging once more from the cellar. And then a person came into view at the corner of the street. In the dim light, I couldn't be sure who it was, but I wasn't going to wait around and find out. I ran back to the others.

"She's here!"

"We can't use the front entrance, then," said Akito. "There must be a back way out. Get everything into the wheelbarrow, quick!"

So we piled all the bags into the barrow, and tried not to remember that this was all that was left of what had once been a living man. Akito and Naoya grabbed the handles and heaved, and the wheelbarrow set off with a magnificent rattle. They drove it straight down the hallway, and crashed into the door to the back sitting-room, sending it flying open. Miaka and I ran after them.

No sooner had we all got into the back room and closed the door behind us than I heard the front door creaking open. We all stopped dead. The back door, and freedom, were just a few metres away from us, but we couldn't afford to make any noise. We had to stay still until Mother left the house – and just hope that she didn't decide to come in here.

We huddled together in the centre of the room. This was one room I had always avoided. The last owner of the house must have liked his parties; empty and half-empty bottles lined the shelves, giving off a foul smell, and the floor was littered with shards of broken glass. Akito was squirming and screwing up his face in disgust at the smell; Naoya just wore a slight frown that said he wanted to get out of here as fast as we could. Miaka sighed with patient resignation.

"Saki?" Mother's voice called out from the front entrance. "Saki, are you in here?"

_She knew!_ I held my breath, feeling as though my heart was trying to push its way through my throat. Who could possibly have told her?

"Saki?" she called again. She waited for a few moments, then sighed. I heard her footsteps coming down the hallway towards us – then a slow, measured creak as she went up the stairs, one careful step at a time. So maybe she didn't know. Maybe she had just guessed something from the way I reacted to Eda's news. I had been careless. I'd been too shocked to think about keeping my feelings hidden. But it didn't matter. If she didn't find us, she would just decide she'd guessed wrong.

So we hung together in silence, waiting as Mother's footsteps receded up the stairs.

"Should we move?" Miaka whispered.

"Wait a bit longer," Naoya replied. "Azusa-san might be coming in after her."

"If we wait any longer, Satoko will come back down," said Akito. "I'm going to chance it."

He opened the door, and then grabbed the wheelbarrow and slid it along the floor. There was a horrible heavy scraping sound. Hearing it again after that silence... well, I'd forgotten just how loud it was. I looked up at Akito with panic in my eyes.

"Please stop!" I whispered.

He shook his head. "It only sounds loud because we're close. She won't hear it upstairs."

"But if Azusa comes in..."

"Then you run and we'll deal with Satoko and Azusa," Miaka said firmly. "We've got this far. We're not going to fall at the last hurdle."

"You... you promise, Miaka-senpai?"

"I promise."

I glanced round. Akito and Naoya had got the wheelbarrow to the door now. Why had they stopped? Akito was outside, and looking up. Oh, of course. He was making sure Mother wasn't looking out from one of the back windows. He nodded, and Naoya started to push the wheelbarrow forward again. Why did it have to be so loud? I couldn't hear what was happening upstairs at all.

Then came a creak as Mother started to come back down the stairs.

Naoya stopped.

"Keep moving!" Miaka hissed. "I've got a plan."

"Miaka?" I whispered. But she was already running out through the back door.

Naoya was moving again. I wanted to shout at him to stop, but it would have done no good. I could only stand and wait for the blow to fall.

Then there was a loud crash, coming from the direction of the front door. We both knew at once that that was our signal, and we charged out of the house as fast as we possibly could.

"What took you so long?" Akito hissed at us.

"Never mind that," said Naoya. "Keep moving!"

I grabbed the free handle of the barrow, and Naoya and I drove it down the garden path. Akito ran on ahead of us to open the gate. And we ran on, tugging as hard as we could to steer the barrow through the narrow opening. It tottered – one wheel rose in the air – Akito grabbed the barrow and forced it down, but one of the bags fell out onto the path with a heavy thud.

"Quick, pick that up!" said Akito.

Now that we were outside, we could hear the night noises all around us: the chorus of the cicadas in the forest, the hooting of an owl, and the creak of a gate being opened –

"Someone's coming!" said Naoya. "Move! We can come back for it."

He grunted, and heaved the wheelbarrow forward once more; it was harder going over the uneven path. The barrow groaned in protest, and then set off with a clunk and rumble as the wheel went over the stones.

Then I noticed that a shadow was hanging over me, and it was coming from behind me.

I span round.

"My, my," said Karen. "I think you three must be the noisiest ninjas I've ever encountered."


	40. Part III Ch 5 The Education of Akito

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**5  
><strong>**The Education of Sonozaki Akito**

After that rebuke, we made our way to the side gate of the Manor as silently as we could. The rattle of the wheelbarrow still seemed horribly loud, but I suppose that was only because we were right next to it. Besides, the rest of the villagers would be indoors by now. They would hear nothing more than a soft clunk, and that could mean almost anything. Once we were well away from the house, Karen vanished into thin air, and returned a moment later with the bag that had fallen out.

We stopped for Akito to open the gate. As he did so, I saw Kotone standing outside the house – even in the twilight, her green hair was unmistakable. She looked both ways to make sure the guards were nowhere in sight, and then came rushing out to meet us.

"What is it now?" said Akito.

"Big brother, you'd better get back soon. Mother's starting to get worried."

"What did you tell her?"

"I said you'd gone to a gaming event in Okinomiya, like you told me, big brother. She said that's okay, but if you're not back soon, she's going to call Kasai and tell him to come find you!"

"Shit."

Kotone looked up at her brother reproachfully.

"It's all right. I can take care of Kasai," said Karen.

Kotone jumped. "K... Karen-san? Sorry, I didn't know you were there! Good evening!"

She made a rapid bow, and then scurried off into the darkness.

"Was that really necessary?" said Akito. "You terrified her!"

"Yes, well, I have that effect on children sometimes..."

"Just because you're a ninja, you don't _always_ have to appear out of the shadows."

"It's what I'm used to. They help to hide my ugly face."

She tossed her head disdainfully, but just for a moment, I caught a look of sadness in her eyes that I couldn't turn away from. I slid up to her and put my hand on hers. "I think you're beautiful, Karen-chan," I said. "And I'm not afraid of you."

"Thanks, Saki," she whispered back. "Now, let's move."

"Hang on," said Naoya. He was looking behind us, down the road. "Miaka's coming back."

We waited. Miaka was jogging towards us, hurrying, but not panicked.

"Is everything okay?" said Akito. "Did Satoko see you?"

"Yes."

"What!" I squeaked, almost forgetting to keep my voice down. "Miaka, are you crazy?"

"Not at all," she said crossly. "Saki-chan, remember, she already suspected you were up to something. She called your name when she entered the house. Now, after she's caught me running off, and I smiled and waved at her, she'll think we were just having a bit of harmless fun."

"That's true," said Karen, "but on the other hand, it means we'll have to be still more careful that no-one ever finds the body, now that Satoko-san _knows_ you were in the house."

Miaka, in turn, blinked in surprise at seeing the newcomer.

"Do I know you?" she said.

"My cousin, Sonozaki Karen," said Akito. "Now, can we _please_ get moving?"

We hurried down a path that led round the back of the house, under cover of the trees. There was a back entrance to the Labyrinth here, close to where the grounds of the Manor melted into the surrounding forest – or a back _exit_, for it was originally built to give the family a secret way out of the grounds in case the Manor was besieged. The keys to this exit were guarded almost religiously – but it went without saying that Karen had one all the same. She had slipped it from Akane's key-ring when she was a teenager, and had a duplicate made before returning it.

The sun had now descended below the horizon, and the trees blocked out what little light was left, so that the mouth of the tunnel was almost completely black. Karen, creature of darkness that she was, went straight on down, pushing the wheelbarrow ahead of her. Akito hesitated; he had taken his torch out of his pocket, but he did not turn it on.

"I think I'll wait out here until you come back," said Miaka.

"Aww, don't be silly!" I laughed. "You're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

"It's not that. It's the tunnel. I don't like being in confined spaces."

"Come on, Miaka," said Akito, stretching out his hand towards hers.

"You can stay here and keep watch, and warn us if anyone comes," said Naoya.

Miaka smiled at him gratefully. Akito's hand stopped in mid-air; he scowled.

"Come on, then," I said, slipping ahead of the others and starting down the stairs. At this rate, Karen was going to get so far ahead that we might lose her in the darkness. But once we were down into the tunnel, I heard the wheelbarrow trundling along clearly enough.

"Please be careful!" Akito called out, as he and Naoya came after me. I could understand why. The last thing any of us wanted to do was grope around in the dark for one of those bags.

There was a rank festering smell in the tunnel, and I couldn't help wondering how many of the Sonozakis' previous victims might be close by, slowly rotting away. Karen seemed so casual about it all. Akito was disgruntled, I could tell from his heavy stride; but he was just annoyed that we'd had to leave Miaka behind. Naoya was irritatingly unshakable as always.

The tunnel twisted and turned, sloping downwards all the while; it was like descending into Hell, with Karen as our only guide. We would be totally reliant on her to find our way back.

"All right, we'll leave it here," she said at last as she slid the wheelbarrow to a halt. I had no idea where "here" was, but I could hear Karen dragging the bags one by one over to the side, probably into a recess that would be hidden from sight to anyone coming down the tunnel. Akito and Naoya at once got the idea, and between the three of them, they quickly got the job done.

"Now just shift this rock to close the gap," said Karen. "No-one will ever find it."

Naoya bent down to start pushing the rock. Akito just stood there. Was he... sobbing?

"Is something wrong?" said Karen.

Akito shook his head. "I can't do this," he said. "This is just _wrong_. What about this poor man's family? How are we going to explain this to them?"

"Akito," Karen said firmly.

"Y... yes?"

"That's no way for the future head of the Sonozaki family to think about things. We have to do what you might call dirty work, in order to keep everything clean and running smoothly."

"But he hadn't even done anything! The only reason he's here now is that he had the bad luck to be murdered in the wrong place! How is that his fault?"

"Fault doesn't come into it," said Karen. "We've got to do the things that have to be done, whether we like it or not." She sighed. "Akito, don't get me wrong. It's a good thing that you have such concern. But you mustn't let your emotions cloud your judgement. I had hoped Shion would have taught you better than this. I'm afraid she's gone soft."

"Hey! Don't talk about my mother like that!"

Akito winced in pain as Karen gripped his arm.

"Listen to me, Akito. I love cousin Shion dearly, but she would never have been suited to the role of head of the family. I suppose you know that she was actually the first-born twin, but she and Mion switched places when they were children. You might think that when that was found out, the family would have reinstated her as the heir. But Oryou-sama knew she wouldn't be suitable. She's too kind-hearted. The head of the Sonozaki family has to be ruthless, and I don't mean that in a bad way. They must be able to put their own emotions to the side and decide what has to be done from a purely impersonal point of view. Shion just can't do that."

"But this is so _wrong_!" Akito cried. "How can you expect me not to care about my friends? Look what we've got Miaka mixed up in, when she came to Hinamizawa especially to recuperate, to forget about such horrors! And Saki – damn it, she's _eleven_, she's far too young to be mixed up in a murder!"

"She is the daughter of Fujiura Satoko," Karen said coldly. "You know what that means."

"Aunt Satoko wanted to protect her from the family business. She entrusted Saki to me, damn it, because she wanted her to have a normal childhood! I may be the future head of the Sonozaki family, but right now I'm the leader of the games club, and _this is all wrong!_"

Running out of words, he beat his fist against the wall of the tunnel in impotent fury.

I hung back and said nothing. Protected? I didn't _need_ to be protected. I'm a big girl, and I can look after myself. But in the mood Akito was in, there was no use in pointing this out.

"Akito-kun," said Karen, "really, your determination to protect your friends is admirable. But this is Hinamizawa. Sooner or later, they'll all have to come to terms with what goes on here."

"But we're at peace now!" Akito cried. "The Dam War was twenty-five years ago!"

"Peace is only a pause for breath in between conflicts," said Karen. "The government's plan to build a dam may be dead, but that doesn't mean there are no other enemies. You should know that... considering your friendship with Ryuuguu Naoya-kun here."

There was a long silence.

"I really don't know what you mean," said Naoya. "If it's about Rena's death, then that was in Tokyo. She was just unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Well, perhaps," said Karen. "Myself, I've never been one to believe in convenient coincidences."

I think we all shivered. But that might just have been because of a gust of cold air that suddenly blasted its way towards us down the tunnel.

"You and your flights of fantasy," Akito said scathingly. "Just because you're a ninja, you see enemies everywhere."

"Power and wealth attract enemies. I should hardly need to tell you that. Not everyone in the world is as good-natured as your little games club."

"I know _that_." There was a faint trace of a sob trying to break loose, but Akito held it back. "Someone killed this poor man, after all. But that doesn't mean we have to –"

"It means we are going to have to be as sly and secretive as our enemies, if we're going to stand a chance against them," said Karen. "Let them think this is their victory. They will return, and they won't be looking over their shoulder. But we will be waiting for them."

Akito was silent.

"But, Karen-chan," I said, "you do know that it's Mother's house? If she's going to be in any danger –"

Karen laughed. "Fujiura Satoko, in danger? That woman has a keener survival instinct than any ninja I've ever met."

Even in that gloomy tunnel, irritated by the cold and constantly on edge, my senses snapping out at every tiny noise, I felt warmed by a surge of pride. Mother was really something special, to receive such praise from a trained ninja!

"So," Karen said after a while, "are we all in agreement?"

There was another long silence.

"Naoya-kun?" said Akito, with a note of desperation in his voice.

"I think Karen-san is right," said Naoya. "If we let anyone know about the body now, it could put all of us in danger."

"Are you a coward?" Akito snapped. "What if we have to take that risk? What if it's the right thing to do?"

"I'm not sure that it is. No, listen to me. Karen-san has a good point. If we operate from the shadows, we may be able to lure the killer into a trap. After all, when the time comes, we will have all the resources of the Sonozaki family at our disposal."

I could almost _hear_ Akito scowling.

"Besides," said Naoya, "you said you didn't want Miaka to be dragged into all this. But whether you like it or not, she _is_ involved now. Surely you don't want to expose her to danger?"

"Damn it," said Akito. "_Damn_ it."

He was huffing so much, I felt fire was about to erupt from his nostrils.

"Akito-kun?" I said.

"I tell you what," he said. "I'm going to have a word with Irie-sensei, and see if we can't get Miaka on the next train back home to Kyoto."

"What!" I cried. "But... but then we may never see her again!"

"I know," he said wretchedly. "But I'd be a lot happier, knowing that she's safe. And who knows, she might come and visit us again, once this is all over."

"You really love her, don't you?" I said quietly.

"_Saki!_"

I snickered.

"Please, you two," said Naoya. "Let's just move this rock into place, and then get out of here. We've been down here for long enough."

"Amen to that," said Akito.

He and Naoya heaved the rock, and it rolled into place easily enough.

"That's all done," he said. "Lead the way, Karen-chan."

And we headed back up the tunnel again. Karen still refused to turn a torch on.

"Just one last point, Akito-kun," she said.

"Yes?"

"You do realise, don't you, that if I wanted, it would be easy for me to lead you astray and leave all three of you to die down here?"

"I know that," Akito said scornfully. "I also know that you'd never do such a thing."

"I'm just trying to say – you should be more careful whom you trust, Akito-kun."

He had no reply to that, and we made our way out of the tunnels in silence.

* * *

><p>We were all overwhelmed by relief as we saw the first crack of light coming from the exit above and ahead of us. The horror of murder was forgotten, and nothing mattered except hurrying on towards that light, faint though it was. We started to climb, and the light solidified into an aura that hung around us like a bubble, fading away just at the edge of arm's reach. But we knew where the door was, and we came out into the fresh air and collapsed, hugging our knees and breathing deeply. I never knew the night could taste so sweet.<p>

It took much longer than it should have done before I remembered that we were on a secret mission. I hastily looked around. It was all right. No-one else was in sight.

Wait – where was Miaka?

My eyes swivelled round frantically, peering into the darkness. I jumped at every rustle of the trees, every snap of a branch, wondering if they had found her and were carrying her away. Even though I still had no real idea who "they" were.

Then I caught a glint of red shining through a gap in the foliage, and I knew that she was waiting for us just beyond the fence. I clenched my teeth and swore to pay her back for this.

Silently, I pointed her out to the others, and we all ran over towards her. Again, it was a purely irrational feeling, but once we were outside the boundary of the Sonozaki land, I felt that all our worries were over. We had gotten rid of the body; no harm could come to us now.

"What are you doing over here, Miaka-chan?" said Akito.

"I've been so worried about you!" she whispered back. "The guards came past and I had to hide – I started counting the number of times they went past – you were down there for so long!"

"Yeah, sorry," Akito grunted. "Still, it's all over now. Though I really hope Mother isn't going to probe our cover story too deeply."

"Were you _scared_, Miaka-chan?" I said.

"Don't joke about it!" she snapped. "I couldn't think what might have happened to you!"

"Well, I'm off home," said Naoya. "If we're supposed to have come from Okinomiya, it'll look rather odd if you reach your front door before I do."

He walked away without waiting for an answer. I rather think that he was in a hurry to get away and wash his mind of the whole business.

"I have a suggestion," said Karen.

"Yes?" said Akito,

"You happened to run into me in Okinomiya, I offered to see you home, and we'll drop Saki off first. That way, if there's any awkwardness, I'll be the one to take the blame."

"Really? That's very kind of you –"

"It's just common sense. We can't go getting you grounded when there's a killer on the loose who may strike again at any moment."

Akito gulped. "Karen, you don't really think –"

"I think you're a naughty little boy who asks more questions than is good for him."

Akito snorted disdainfully. There was an awkward silence.

"I should say goodnight, then," said Miaka. "And – good luck."

"Thank you, Miaka-chan," he said.

"Goodnight, Saki-chan!"

"Goodnight," I whispered.

She slipped away through the trees, as silent and invisible as a shadow.

And that left just the three of us. We headed off towards my place together. We were all too tired for much talking – after so much excitement, the calm came as a sudden shock. So we just walked down the streets together with Karen in the middle, not even caring if we were seen.

As we turned the last corner into my street, a figure came striding out towards us. At first we only saw a silhouette in the moonlight; but as the figure came closer, we saw that it was a man, dressed in a black leather jacket, trousers and boots, with a belt and holster, though it was empty. His hair was black and long, tied in a ponytail, and he had a sharp beard, like a knife.

"Sonozaki Karen," he said. "I might have known it would be you."

"Hikaru-kun," she returned, making the slightest of nods.

Kasai Hikaru is the son of Aunt Shion's old bodyguard. Tatsuyoshi, the father, is retired now and we don't see that much of him, but his son hangs around much more than I would like him to. He acts the nice guy towards us, but anyone can see that it's only because he has a crush on Mother. And she's ten years older than him. She's made it clear that she's not interested, but he just won't go away. She keeps him around as a friend; I think she pities him. I've tried to drive him away with traps, but he just says I'm cute and tries to ruffle my hair. Emi doesn't like him either, and someone who doesn't get on with dogs _can't_ be a good person. I've often wondered whether I should just tell him that Mother's a lesbian – but if she wants to keep that secret, that's her choice.

"Saki-chan," said Hikaru, looking away from Karen. "Where on earth have you been?"

"We've just come back from Okinomiya together," said Karen. "I'm sorry we're a bit late coming home. I just lost track of time. It's entirely my fault."

"I have no doubt of _that_," Hikaru said coldly. "Come here, Saki-chan. Your mother's been waiting for you."

I stepped forward, _glaring_ at Hikaru as I did. He took no notice. He might just as well have been a statue.

"See you at school tomorrow, Saki!" Akito called after me.

"When your mother hears about this, there may not be any more after-school games for you," Hikaru returned.

That was going too far. He could say what he liked to me, but he could not attack Akito.

"Shut up, and keep your fat nose out of my business!" I snarled at him.

"Your mother's waiting," Hikaru said again. He touched me slightly on the shoulder, and there was nothing I could do except follow him, silently staring into the back of his jacket as if that would make it burst into flames, and thinking of traps to set for him next time he came round.

Azusa was waiting for us at the door.

"_Saki!_ Where have you been?" She threw her arms round me and pressed my head against her bosom. "Your mother's been out of her mind with worry. I'll have to tell her you're home."

"I've sent her a text," said Hikaru.

"Thanks, Hikaru-kun." There was an awkward pause. Azusa didn't seem to know what she should say. "Um... would you like to come in and have some tea?"

"Thank you, but I'd best be getting about my business."

"If you insist," she said, though I could detect a note of relief in her voice. She bowed to him. "Thank you so much for finding Saki."

"He didn't _find_ me!" I burst out. "Karen-chan was just bringing me home when we bumped into each other."

"And if Satoko-san takes my advice, she'll make sure you stay well away from that woman," said Hikaru.

I glared at him again. "Why? What's wrong with Karen?"

"You know what that woman is," Hikaru said stolidly. "You can't trust a ninja. They operate by darkness and deceit –"

"It's all right, Hikaru-kun," said Azusa. "Let's leave it there. Saki needs to get to bed, and there's no point in getting her all emotional. She's had a long enough day already."

"But you can't let him –" I cried.

"Enough," said Azusa. "Saki, just go to bed. We'll talk more about this tomorrow."

I threw her a scowl and trampled upstairs to my room. To tell the truth, I _was_ very tired, so I did go to bed – after taking out the package I was still keeping under my dress, and slipping it into a sugar-bowl that stood, among many other ornaments, on my bookcase. It was safe enough there; Mother had no reason to look inside such an ordinary object.

I was still awake when Mother came into my room half an hour later. But I turned my face towards her with my eyes closed and lay still, so she would think I was asleep. I could see her only dimly in the light coming through the door, her face in the shadow, but I could see that she had been crying. She stood for a while looking down on me, and then closed her eyes, shook her head, and walked away, gently closing the door behind her. I continued to lie still.

It was a very long time before I fell asleep that night.


	41. Part III Ch 6 Observation

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**6  
><strong>**Observation**

A sullen mood hung over all of us throughout school the next day. Every time Akito's eyes happened to meet mine, he tensed up and abruptly turned away; and for once, I didn't feel like goading him about it. Miaka got on with her work in silence, with none of her usual lively banter; she seemed to be more affected by it than any of us. Perhaps just because we had found the body together; perhaps because it reminded her of the horror she had been through before she came to Hinamizawa. Naoya was thoughtful and inscrutable as always; I'm not sure whether it was because he was thinking about the murder, or just because he was concentrating on quadratic equations. Even Kotone's cheerful mask had slipped a little, and considering how it seems to be stuck on with some kind of permanent glue, that's quite something.

Aunt Shion went about the day's lessons with her usual brusqueness. Every now and then, she would glare at one or another of us with a flicker of her eyelids, but most often at Akito, with a frown that told him how upset she was. I was struggling in the English lesson – I had a bunch of words that made sense on their own, but I couldn't see how they fitted together – but when I turned towards Miaka to ask for some help, Aunt Shion began to stride out towards me. I shrank back and buried myself in my exercise book, as if nothing of the sort had crossed my mind.

Once the day was finally over – and I'd never known a day to feel so long – we all gathered round as usual. But Aunt Shion did not hand over the keys and walk away. She stood facing us with her hands on her hips, looking grim.

"I'll lock up today," she said. "Akito, Kotone, it's time to go home. There will be no more after-school activities for the rest of term. I am severely disappointed in you – yes, _all_ of you, even you, Kotone! I know you were covering up for your older brother –"

Akito moved to stand protectively in front of his sister. "Please don't blame Kotone, Mother," he said. "All of this was entirely my fault."

I blinked. He even managed to sound like he meant it.

"Well, I'm glad you've decided to accept your share of responsibility at least, Akito," she said. "Still, in the current circumstances, I can't allow you to run around unless I feel that I can trust you. As a Sonozaki, you should know that it's part of your duty to the family to accept your punishment. And just be glad that it isn't fingernails."

I said nothing, but I could feel my hand clenching into a fist under the table. How dare she threaten Akito with _that_? As if she'd ever really go through with it! The family had forced her to take the fingernail punishment herself when she was younger, and she _still_ found it difficult to be reminded of that. So she only brought it out as a threat when she was _really_ angry.

The doorbell rang.

"Just wait here while I get that," said Aunt Shion. "I'm not done with you yet."

So the six of us waited together – even Miaka. Shion's last remark was not directed at her, and she could just have left us and returned to the clinic, but she chose to stay. I was grateful for that, at least. We were silent; what was there to say? Really, we'd all known this was coming. It was unfair on the others, when they'd only gotten themselves into trouble to protect me; but there was no way I could explain that to Aunt Shion without spilling the whole story. I suppose it didn't matter very much. Even if we had been allowed to stay after school, none of us would really have been in the mood for games. The only club activity worth doing now was waiting for Karen to make her report – whether anyone had come back to the house in the night, and whether she had found out anything about local missing persons from her brother Toshio.

It was almost ten minutes before Shion returned. She was still just as sullen, but her cheeks were pinched inwards as though she was holding herself back from saying something, and her whole face was flushed red. She was followed into the room by Furude Rika of all people. Rika was hobbling and breathing with some difficulty – had she actually _walked_ all the way to school, in her condition? No wonder Shion looked uncomfortable. Knowing that a friend has put themselves out for you like that is never pleasant.

She gave a nervous cough.

"I've changed my mind," she said. "There will be no punishment. Club activities can continue as normal."

We all looked at each other in bewilderment, and then, one after another, we all looked round at Rika. Clearly she was responsible for Shion's change of mind – but how? And why? And _surely_ she hadn't walked all the way to school just so we could resume our club activities?

Akito kept his emotions under control magnificently.

"Thank you, Mother," he said with a bow. And then, as there was no point in pretending we didn't all know, he added, "Thank you, Rika-sama."

"Nipaa!" Rika said with a sweet smile.

Shion coughed. "Rika-chan is feeling a bit tired after walking to school, so she needs to rest before returning home," she said. "And I'm afraid that I have to get back home and get on with marking. So, you'll be kind and let Rika-chan join in your game, won't you?"

"I promise I'll be a good sport and do the punishment game if I lose," said Rika. "You don't need to make any special allowances for me."

Akito and I stared blankly at each other. Of course, we knew that we couldn't possibly refuse. Was that the point? Had Rika come here to make sure that we played harmless games and didn't discuss the murder? But then – _how did she know about it?_ Or was there another explanation? But I could see none. It was too strange for Rika to be here at all; it could not be coincidence that it happened the one time we had something more serious than club games on our minds. Still, looking at Rika and the way she smiled, it was hard to believe her capable of such a subterfuge.

At last, Akito laughed. "All right, you can play, Rika-sama," he said. "But we can't let you take the punishment game. No, we'll have a special rule, just for this once."

"Well, it looks like that's settled," said Aunt Shion. "I'll leave you all to get on with it. See you later, Rika-chan."

She was still less than friendly towards us, but I wanted to show her that she could trust me to behave well, so I gave her a smile and a polite bow all the same.

"What's this new rule, big brother?" said Kotone.

"Instead of a game with a loser, we'll play a game with only one winner, and the winner gets to give a punishment game to _all_ the losers – except for Rika-sama," Akito said gleefully.

Naoya frowned and adjusted his glasses. "And what game are we playing?"

Akito crossed over to the games cupboard, and took out a brand-new pack of cards and a set of poker chips. "Something suitable for this special occasion. _Elimination Poker!_"

"How does that work?" said Miaka.

Akito started handing out the chips. "We each get a total of 201 chips, in denominations of 100, 50, 25, 10, two 5s, two 2s, and two 1s. If you lose your last chip, you're out of the game, and each time that happens, the lowest remaining denomination is removed from play, so as to speed up further eliminations. Also, if no-one is out in the first thirty minutes, and every fifteen minutes after that, the player with the least chips is eliminated automatically."

"Sounds fun," said Miaka. "Just standard five-card draw, I suppose?"

"Yes, we should keep things simple for the little ones," said Akito. "Kotone, Kichi, do you need me to go over which hands beat which?"

Kotone wrinkled up her face. "I can never remember whether four of a kind beats a full house."

"That's easy to remember," said Kizuna. "Four of a kind wins, because there are more of them that are the same. That's all you need to know in this game."

"So, take your places, everyone!" said Akito. "Rika-sama, would you like to deal first?"

* * *

><p>The first few deals were uneventful – but they did give me a chance to observe the playing style of the two I had never played poker with before, Rika and Miaka. And poker is a game that depends on observing other players' styles and not having any style of your own, which is why I felt confident that I could win. Mind you, I could see from the intense way both Akito and Naoya were concentrating on the game that they also fancied their winning chances; and Miaka's calm smile suggested that she, too, felt confident. Kotone and Kizuna were just relaxed and cheerful. They had no hope of winning, and they knew it; but they were determined to have fun, all the same. That made them an unpredictable element, which would spice things up for all of us. As for Rika, she had a large advantage because of her pregnancy. She was enjoying the game, but she could not hide the fact that she was uncomfortable – which made it impossible to tell how she was reacting to her cards. Besides, she was older and more experienced – it would be foolish to write her off.<p>

The first fifteen-minute period passed. Miaka was not doing well; she had a tendency to push too far on cards that weren't really worth it. This was a strategy that could pay off if she got lucky with the draw, but so far, that just wasn't happening. Naoya, by contrast, stayed very quiet; when he staked anything at all, you knew it was going to be a serious round. Akito was his fiercest competitor, and so far was getting the better of their skirmishes; but Naoya made up for it by steadily bleeding chips from the hapless Kotone and Kizuna. And since Akito couldn't resist giving his little sister a chance by staking on poor cards whenever she was still in, it looked like this was going to be a long game.

Rika was proving annoyingly hard to read. I hadn't _noticed_ her making a big win, but somehow or other, she seemed to have almost as many chips as Akito and Naoya. I watched her thoughtfully for a while, but as soon as she noticed that my eyes were on her, she just smiled and began to make light conversation.

"Naoya-kun," she said, "I understand you went to visit Maebara-san the other day?"

_Maebara..._ that was it, that was the name of the painter whose house we had gone to.

Naoya nodded.

"I'm glad. He leads such a lonely life, it must be good for him to get a visitor. How is he?"

Naoya looked uncomfortable; he clearly would rather just concentrate on the game.

"In good health. But he had rather a shock recently. Some of his paintings were stolen."

"Oh no!" said Rika. "I'm so sorry..."

"That's very odd," said Akito. "Were they valuable?"

Naoya shook his head. "It's not like he's famous or anything. No, he was just upset because those paintings were the only ones he had left of his son..."

"His son?" said Miaka.

"Yes, he had a son who went away to Tokyo, fifteen years ago, and died over there."

"That's so sad," said Miaka. "But why would anyone steal the paintings?"

"You should have said something," said Akito. "The Sonozaki family –"

"If Maebara-san doesn't want to report the theft –" said Naoya.

"But still –"

"Let's not argue about it," said Miaka. "Your deal, Akito-kun."

Akito nodded, and gathered up the cards with a sour look on his face.

I glanced up at the clock. Less than ten minutes remained until the first elimination. The way things stood, it looked like either Miaka or Kizuna would be out, with Kizuna the more likely of the two. I didn't really care who went out first; I just didn't want Akito and Naoya to have the satisfaction of feeling they had beaten them. I decided to shake things up a bit.

The next deal, Naoya was first to speak, and folded at once. I looked away as though my action had nothing to do with his, and casually, without any hint of a smile, pushed my 100 chip into the centre of the table. Miaka folded. Akito, giving me a harsh glance as if to say he _knew_ I was bluffing, contributed his own 100 to the pot. Kizuna pouted mournfully, as if she would have _liked_ to stay in if she could, but since this would have put her all-in, she wisely declined.

Kotone hesitated. Kizuna reached across and gently touched her on the arm, and Kotone sank back. Akito gave them both a stern look. And then, the only real surprise – Rika stayed in.

After that, no-one was going to raise any further, so Kotone dished out replacement cards – two to Rika, two to me, just one to Akito.

"Let's get this over with," said Akito, staking only 5.

Rika smiled and pushed in a 25.

I shot her a glance, but her expression was inscrutable. Perhaps she did have something after all. I'd done what I wanted to do, and there was no point in spending further chips on it, so I dropped out. Akito took a long time to decide, but he eventually called.

Rika showed three Jacks.

Akito smiled and showed three Aces. Even with the pressure of a big pot, he'd managed to think on his feet, exchanging only one card so that Rika would think he had two pair. She accepted her loss gracefully, and gathered the cards in for the next deal.

Naoya was less graceful; he furrowed his brows and scowled menacingly. He had built up a lead slowly and methodically, and now Akito had leapt in front of him in a single deal! I grinned back as if to say: you agreed to sit down to a poker game, Naoya-kun – what did you expect?

It was as if a storm cloud had fallen over the table. There was no more light conversation. Naoya hunched forward in his seat, gripping his cards with a new intensity, staking on almost every round so that none of us had any idea what he held. Then Kotone overplayed her hand, Akito decided there were limits to how far he could cover for her, Naoya pounced – and Kotone was the first out. After my big loss, she could have just sat tight until time was called, but Kotone doesn't play like that.

She rose slowly from the table. For a moment, I wondered whether she was about to burst into tears. Kizuna stretched out a hand. Then Kotone turned towards her friend and beamed.

"That was fun," she said. "Can I stay and watch the rest of the game?"

"Sure," said Akito.

Kotone nodded, walked slowly and deliberately around the table, and took up her vantage position – directly behind Naoya.

"Hey!" he said.

"What? I can stand here if I like. There's no rule against it."

Naoya grunted. "All right, but remember you're not allowed to say anything."

The game continued. With the 1s eliminated, play was much more intense. Seeing that my supply was so low, Miaka tried to eliminate me, but I happened to have good cards on that round. Akito was trying to wear Rika down, but this time luck favoured her when the draw gave her the six she needed to complete a straight. The next deal started with Naoya staking 25. Kizuna smiled, glanced upwards, and staked her 50.

Naoya swivelled round and glared at Kotone.

"What?" she said with a smile. "I didn't say anything!"

As far as I could see, she hadn't given any kind of signal either. But Naoya was unsettled. He stayed in with clear reluctance. When Kizuna refused to exchange and then raised after the draw as well, he threw his cards down in a huff. Miaka called, and Kizuna showed three nines. I glanced up. The look on Kotone's face told me all I needed to know.

Kotone took pity on Naoya and moved to stand behind Rika, but there was no way back for him after that. He was out a few rounds later, and stood up, sending his chair back across the room with a loud scrape.

"I'm going home," he said. "See you at school tomorrow."

With the minimum bet raised to 5, Miaka soon buckled under the pressure and was the next out. She looked across at Kotone.

"Want to go home and make cookies?"

"Yay!"

"Okay." Miaka stood up and stretched. Like me, she was an active girl, and not used to sitting down for so long, after a long day at school as well. "Enjoy the game, everyone, and don't stay up too late! Give me a call when you've decided what the punishment game will be."

Six players were to be eliminated, and three were out already. That gave the game a whole different feel; even _Kizuna_ must have been thinking seriously about the possibility that she might win. And, let's face it, the chance to give a punishment game to the whole club at once doesn't come along very often.

Akito was a long way in the lead now, so I started to think about how to lay a trap for him. In the next couple of deals, I lost a 25 to Rika and another to Kizuna, so that my stock was reduced to a few 10s and a solitary 50. I needed to look like I was desperate: down to my last few chips, I would have to push myself on any old cards to stay in. But Fujiura Saki does not resort to such measures. Next deal, I picked up a pair of Queens. Rika and Kizuna both stayed in. I staked my 50.

Akito hesitated, but the prospect of eliminating me was too much to resist. I smiled as his hand slithered towards his chips; it was sliding back and forth, but there was never any doubt about where it would end up. Sure enough, he contributed a 50 to match mine.

Akito took three cards, Kizuna two, and Rika only one. I looked up at Akito with the most disarming of smiles, then turned to Kizuna. "Five, please."

Then I took my new cards and settled back in my seat. Akito was struggling to keep his composure, and it was so much fun to watch that I almost started to hum. Sure, it hurt a little to give up the Queens, but it was better this way. Akito would now be _almost_ sure his hand was better than mine, but there would be just enough of a niggling doubt to keep him hesitating. After all, I _might_ just have got lucky on the draw; stranger things have happened. And I knew that Rika, at least, would seize at once on that lack of confidence.

She did. After Akito finally worked up the courage to stake another 50, she gave a calm smile, and raised 100. I pushed in my last few chips. I couldn't win from here anyway, so I decided I may as well go out with a flourish. Kizuna nervously matched Rika's raise. Akito shot Rika a stern glance, and raised a further 50. But Rika wasn't falling for it, and raised again.

Well, well. I sat back and watched; this was marvellous entertainment. It was like the gladatorial combats of old, with poor Kizuna an innocent bystander caught in the middle. A couple of raises later, she was also all-in. Akito and Rika shared an understanding look; neither of them wanted the whole game to ride on this single deal. Rika called.

Akito showed three Kings, and Rika put down a low-ranking full house.

"_Damn_," said Akito. Then he remembered whom he was talking to. "Um, sorry, Rika-sama. That just slipped out."

"It's all right," she said serenely. "What have you got, Kizuna?"

Kizuna just gripped her cards and stared straight ahead. Akito looked at her blankly.

"Go on," said Rika. "Show us."

I knew what was about to happen long before the other two; but then, of course, I know Kizuna so much better than they do. She wasn't embarrassed about her cards. She was frightened, because her way of looking at the world had just been shaken. But there it was: the evidence was right in front of her eyes. She had a higher full house, which meant she had won the deal. Akito gaped; he clearly couldn't believe it either. It made no sense to his way of thinking that someone with a hand that good should not have raised. But, as I said, he didn't know Kizuna as well as I did.

"I think I'll stay and watch to the end," I said. "Looks like it'll be an interesting finish."

It was. There were too few chips left for cautious play, and Akito was soon out, losing to Rika when he staked too much on a low-ranking three of a kind. My eyes lit up at once. This was beyond anything I could have hoped for – a duel to the death between mother and daughter!

Rika smiled. "This should be interesting," she said. "Kizuna, as your punishment game, I shall make you do an extra hour's housework, every day for the next week. You'll have to pull your weight a little more from now on in any case, now that we'll soon have one more in the family."

Kizuna sighed and stared down at the table.

"Saki-chan...," Rika tilted her head and gazed at me thoughtfully for a while. "I suppose I'll be going into the clinic soon, so perhaps you could visit me every day, and ask your mother to make me a bentou? I'll need something to keep my spirits up."

I grinned. "Rika-sama, you know I'd do that for you, whether you win or not."

"Thank you," she said gravely. "And as for you, Akito-kun..." She drummed her fingers on the table. "I shall make you tell me the truth about what the club members were doing last night."

My heart stopped. I sat frozen for a moment. And then, slowly, faintly, my heart started again and the world faded back in around me. Rika was still smiling. I must have just misheard. She couldn't possibly have said what I thought she said.

"If you win," said Akito.

"Of course," said Rika. She turned towards Kizuna. "Are you ready?"

Kizuna closed her eyes, and nodded.

I clasped my hands together so tightly that they hurt. Kizuna _had_ to win! Rika might not even have got this far if I hadn't been so determined to show up Akito and Naoya, so if she won now, it would all be my fault. But there was nothing I could do, nothing except sit tight and see what happened. This would finally decide whether I really deserved what was coming to me.

Only the seven 100 chips were still in the game; Rika had five and Kizuna only two. And Kizuna was too nervous, too afraid to take any risk. Whenever Rika bet, she folded immediately – except just once. That meant, of course, that Rika knew she had a good hand, so she dropped out and Kizuna won just one chip. That was something; but it did nothing to calm Kizuna's nerves.

Ten minutes were gone. Less than five minutes left, and it would all be over.

Then, with a smile almost as if she were doing it just to spice things up, Rika bet two chips at once. Kizuna blinked. There was absolute silence; I don't think any of us were breathing. Then she closed her eyes tightly, and matched Rika's bet.

Rika asked for one card, and Kizuna for two.

Rika took her new card, and stared at it for a long time as though trying to make up her mind. This was nonsense, of course; it would be as good as conceding defeat to drop out now.

At last she decided she could not torment Kizuna any longer, and staked a third chip. And Kizuna clenched her teeth with a look of grim determination, and added her last chip to the pot.

Rika threw in her last chip as well. This was clearly the finale; it was only fitting that it should be a clean end to the game, one way or another.

And, for about a minute, they both sat staring at each other, neither daring to move.

At last, Kizuna started to lay down her cards, one at a time. An Eight – and another – and another – and the fourth.

"Ah," Rika said calmly. "I'm afraid I have four Tens." And she laid them down.

At the same moment, Kizuna laid down her last card.

It was a _fifth_ Eight.

We all froze. Time itself might have stopped. Then Akito reached out and turned the cards over, one by one. There was no doubt about it: they were genuine, and all from the same pack.

"Well, this is unexpected," said Rika. "Akito-kun, your ruling?"

"Um, I don't know," he said. "Kizuna, did you put an extra Eight into the pack?"

She shook her head.

"It must be a mistake by the manufacturers, then," said Akito. "No harm done, because we were all equally likely to benefit – it just happened to be Kichi."

"Fair enough," said Rika. "Well done, Kizuna. Akito-kun, will you help me get home?"

I sat in silence and watched them leave. Akito took Rika's arm, and the two walked away like old friends; there was no sign of any resentment over the game, no sign that Akito had been in the least nervous about the outcome. Maybe he didn't care about whether I took the punishment. He is pathologically honest; I know that if he'd lost the game, he would have told Rika everything. Still, the secret was safe for now. Rika would also abide by the result; she has her reputation as the village priestess to uphold. As for Kizuna... I shot her a glance. She was staring out across the space where Rika had been sitting, as though she still couldn't take in what had happened. I did wonder how exactly that extra Eight got into the pack. Kizuna can get away with anything, because she's so cute that people always want to believe the best of her. I guess I just have to admire her for that.

I said goodnight to Kizuna and slipped away. Evening was coming on fast, and the village was quiet. I took a quick look around to make sure that no-one had their eyes on me, and hurried off towards the empty house.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

Yes, I'm back. Japan was awesome. Hinamizawa is beautiful. And the _shinkansen_ journeys were a great chance to get some writing done; I'm now up to Part V, Chapter 8.

Sadly, I won't be returning to anything like my old update schedule, at least not for a while. I have a lot to sort out, three other fanfics vying for my attention, and still this niggling feeling that I should be trying harder to finish a non-fanfic novel. But, as I've said before, I'm seeing this through to completion no matter what. I love the characters far too much to leave their fates unresolved; and there are some parts coming up that I'm really looking forward to writing, especially when we reach Part IV and are introduced to the Misoras.


	42. Part III Ch 7 Voices in the Wind

**(o)**

**Return to Hi****na****mizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**7  
><strong>**Voices in the Wind  
><strong>

So there I was, in front of the house again. I looked up and down the street; there was no-one in sight. The cicadas were unusually loud, which meant they were mourning a death, or heralding one to come. At least, that's what the people say. I could not hear any other sounds. I pushed the door open – why did it have to creak so loud? I slipped inside and pressed myself against the wall.

"Karen-chan! Are you there?"

No response.

Then I realised that my voice had only been a whisper. I tried again. "Karen-chan!"

Still no response.

Damn her. She'd said she would stay here and guard the place. She was probably just hiding somewhere, to give me a bit of a fright. Just because she's a trained ninja, she thinks she has to do stuff like this all the time. How childish.

I got out my phone, and then scowled when I saw I'd run out of battery. Well, if she wanted to play sneaky – two could play at that game!

I crept upstairs first of all. Even though the den was emptied and all my stuff was gone, somehow I just _needed_ to be in that room again, to curl up for a while and let the rest of the world pass by.

I hurried up the stairs. Then, all at once, I lost my balance and crashed forward as my foot went straight through the gap where the sixth stair used to be. How could I have forgotten? It was all Karen's fault, making me so stressed out! I landed with a loud thud, and there was an answer like an echo from far below as one more floorboard landed right at the bottom. Well, if Karen was in the house, she would certainly have heard that. I lifted myself up. There was a twinge of pain where the edge of the stair had dug into my thigh. I gripped tightly onto the banister to make it take my weight; I couldn't afford any more slips. One more hard knock might bring the whole structure crashing down. I went up the rest of the way one slow, careful step at a time.

The door to the room that used to be my den was open. I frowned. It was careless of us to have left it that way. Or had someone else been here? I crept forward silently, and looked inside.

Stupid. Why couldn't I stop the tears coming to my eyes? It wasn't as though the room's appearance was a surprise. But even so – it was horrible to see it so empty and desolate, after it had been a home for so long. Everything I'd done to make it my own space, all the care that had gone into picking out the perfect furnishings and arranging them – and all that was left was in black bags up at the old dam site. Now that you could see the walls again, they were dusty and flaky like the rest of the house, as if the merest touch would make them crumble into dust. The window had come loose at some point in the careless haste of the clearing, and was thudding back and forth in its frame, a steady, monotonous beat like a funeral drum. Dust, shaken loose as we pulled everything apart, had settled in great swathes across the floor, and a little trickle of wind was stirring it in slow spirals, like a sidewinder rippling through the desert sand. And suddenly I realised that I couldn't stay here, could never curl up and feel at peace again. I had betrayed the spirits of this place, and they had reclaimed it for their own.

I whimpered, and moved to close the door. I only meant to push it gently, but somehow it slipped from my grasp and thudded into place with a loud bang. It was a warning. They were telling me to get out; that I was welcome no longer. I huddled against the wall and counted. If I reached thirty and there was no response to the noise of the door, all would be well. I could leave.

Twenty-four. Twenty-five. It was so tempting to hurry through the last numbers, but I knew that would be cheating. Twenty-six. I scowled upwards at the empty air. _You're not going to get me that easily!_ Twenty-seven.

The front door of the house creaked open.

Time stopped for a moment. Then I found my voice again.

"Karen-chan," I whispered, "is that you?"

_Stupid!_ How could I expect her to hear me? But this time, I didn't dare to raise my voice.

The door was closed, more carefully, and I heard the sound of footsteps downstairs. I sat there, feeling the tears striking my knees, even though I wasn't crying. Maybe it wasn't worth all this after all. Maybe I should just have shown myself to Mother, told her the truth about my den so that she understood what we'd been doing and the others wouldn't be in trouble. Sure, I'd have to take my punishment, but it wouldn't be so bad, she _is_ my mother. It couldn't be worse than crouching here, afraid even to move! Though I guess we'd still have to keep quiet about the corpse. And perhaps I could leave out mention of a _few_ of the things I had kept here...

I crept towards the top of the stairs. I hadn't made my mind up yet about whether to show myself. But I thought, if I inched closer and closer, I could maybe slip into showing myself without having to make such a big decision. And I might be able to see who it was; that would help. _Please let it be Mother and Azusa... or, better still, just Azusa._ She would be less harsh on me. I don't know why. Well, of course, I'm not her daughter. But why should that make any difference? They've always brought me up together, ever since Father died. I've been taught to call her Aunt Azusa, but it's much more like having two mothers.

Huh. Just look at me, thinking about Azusa to try to distract myself from the horrible realisation that the top of the stairs was drawing ever closer, that no matter how much I thought that inching myself closer would make things easier, there was still that final step to be taken, because I _knew_ that I could still turn back if I chose...

The time had come. I came to the edge of the landing, and stared down through the banister. I could see who was moving about down there all right, and it wasn't Mother at all. It wasn't Azusa either. It was two bulky men, with black leather jackets and black jeans. One of them had a thick black beard, and the other had a deep scar that ran right the way across his cheek.

"You're taking enough time," said the one with the scar. He was standing in the middle of the hallway, while the other man was in a doorway, only just in sight.

"Bah. Who cares?" said Beard. "There's no-one here to see us."

"The Fujiura woman may come back at any moment."

"Hell, no. She went off to Takatsudo with Shion-san, and from what I hear, they may be busy there for some time." He laughed cruelly, as if he was savouring some private joke.

"I'd be careful of underestimating that woman," said Scar.

"Well then, I'll just leave the door open so that anyone can just drop in!" Beard snarled. Well, that's not quite the way he said it. It had a lot of words in it that I'm not supposed to know, so I've left those out.

"Fine, you lock the door, but please hurry," said Scar.

I crouched still and waited. I had no idea who these men were, but I knew that I didn't want them to see me. Burglars? That made no sense; everyone knew the house had been empty for years. And they weren't just random outsiders; they knew Mother's name and what she was doing. Sonozaki agents? But that made no sense either; Mother's very close to the Sonozaki family, and it sounded like they were against Mother, and Aunt Shion as well. But they couldn't be agents from some other yakuza clan. No-one would dare to operate in Hinamizawa with the Sonozakis around.

At last they finished with the door, and strode together towards the back of the house. As soon as they were out of sight, I slipped down and tested the door. They really had locked it. But how – did they have a key? Or can you lock a door without a key, kind of like picking a lock, but in reverse? Well, it meant nothing. I could easily break a window when I wanted to get out. I was already in enough trouble that it really wouldn't matter. But, before then – what should I do?

I glanced down the passage after the men. They were already too far away for me to hear what they were saying. And then I knew that I had to creep after them. Karen had let me down; it was all down to me now. I _had_ to find out who they were and why they were here. I might just end up finding a valuable clue towards working out what the hell was going on in this house.

Cautiously, a little at a time, I tiptoed forward. This was easy – it was just like playing Capture the Flag! Easier, really, because like all grown-ups, they felt so sure of themselves that it would never occur to them that a child might be getting one up on them. I reached the first doorway and hid there for a moment, watching. They were standing in front of the stairs leading down to the cellar – the same one we had found the body in!

One of them switched on a torch, but the light flickered and went out.

"Damn," said Beard. "You got one?"

"More wasted time," said Scar. "There's one in my bag. Get a move on."

I chuckled to myself. What cowards they were! They wouldn't even go into the cellar without a torch. I bet they always used to come last in games at school.

They stumbled their clumsy way down the cellar stairs, and then I heard a cry of surprise and anger. Beard – I could tell it was him as his voice was deeper and raspier – burst into a stream of foul language. "It's not _here_," was the gist. "Someone's bloody well gone and moved it."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Scar.

"I'm telling you, it's gone! And he sure as hell didn't lift himself up, after what I did to him." He gave a snort of laughter.

I gripped tightly onto the doorframe. So these men were the killers! Karen was right when she said they would come back. But where was she? If only she were here, we could catch them!

"Well, who could have moved it?" said Scar.

"I dunno. Sonozaki-san?"

"Nah, why would he?"

"Maybe he thought the Fujiura woman would come back sooner than expected..."

"Maybe!" Scar said contemptuously. "You and your maybes. You're always thinking too much, and it never gets you anywhere."

"Well then, you tell me what happened!"

There was silence for a moment. I held my breath. He'd said "Sonozaki-san". There was no possible doubt about it. But _which_ Sonozaki? There were about twenty of them! But they'd also said "he". And it sounded like whoever it was was the person who'd ordered them to kill that man. They'd come back to move the body before Mother found it, though not for the same reason as me. And we'd got in before them.

"This is definitely where we left him," Scar said at last.

"You blockhead, _aniki_!" cried Beard. "You're hopeless! You can't think any better than me. Of course this is where we left him!"

"Well, I wasn't sure at first. The house might have more than one cellar. But I can see his blood on the wall over there."

"Yeah? How do you know it's his?"

"I can also see the dent where you smashed the bat into the wall when he ducked."

"Well, fine," said Beard. "I agree, this is the right cellar. So what?"

"So, someone's been in here and moved the body."

"You moron!" shouted Beard. "We already know that!"

"Yes, all right," Scar said through gritted teeth. "But listen – who can have been in here?"

"Well, I don't know."

"That's because you don't _think_!" From the sound that followed, I would guess that Scar lashed out at Beard, who dodged and bumped into the wall. "Who else but the Fujiura woman?"

"Well, I dunno," Beard said again. "Some tramp, maybe."

"Why would a tramp come to a dump like this? There's nothing left to steal. Besides, there would be traces. Signs of their presence – a blanket, newspapers, _something_. And why the hell would they want to move the body?"

"For that matter, why would Fujiura?"

"Because she's going to let the house out, dumbass. Couldn't exactly do that with a dead body lying in the cellar."

"Yeah, but..." There was a long pause as Beard processed this information, tossing it from one brain cell to another like a slow-motion tennis match. "But that means Fujiura knows we killed him! And she's hand-in-glove with the Sonozakis. This is bad."

"Really? You think?"

"Yeah." Another pause. "How bad do you think it is?"

"Let's see. About as bad as your chances of getting elected president of Mensa."

"Oh." Another pause. "Is that bad, _aniki_?"

Scar rounded on Beard, and another punch whistled through the air. "Yes, you buffoon, it's bad! Now help me think what to do."

There was a long silence.

"Let's just kill the Fujiuras," said Beard. "Problem solved."

I think I forgot to breathe for a moment. _Had he really just said that?_

"Have you gone mad?" said Scar.

"Not at all. You know how big this operation is. We can't afford for anyone to interfere with it. Especially not Fujiura."

"But if we just kill her, we'll have all the Sonozakis up in arms –"

"Then we make it look like an accident. Set fire to her house."

"I suppose we could –"

I didn't wait to hear any more. I slammed the door on them and turned the key. I could barely keep a grip on it, my hand was trembling so much. I had to get out; I had to run home and warn Mother. _Nothing_ else mattered any more, not my den and treasures, none of it. How could I ever have been so foolish?

A cry came from inside the room. Scar leapt up the stairs and pounded on the door.

"Oi! Let us out!"

The door shuddered. I stood, frozen. Would it hold? If the lock broke under his relentless pounding... what should I do? Try to fight them, push them down the stairs – or just run? I looked desperately around for a weapon, but all I found was a spindle of wood that might have once been a chair leg. I gripped it and stood facing the door, my whole body trembling.

But, for now at least, the door held.

"Who's there, anyway?" Beard called up the stairs. "Is it Fujiura?"

"I bet it's the kid," said Scar. "Hey, kid, be a nice little girl and open the door. Otherwise, we might stop being nice."

"As if!" I shouted back. "I heard everything you said! You're planning to kill Mother!"

"Heh, but there would be no point in that now that you've heard everything we were saying, would there?" I could almost _feel_ him smirking. "But, on the other hand, if you _don't_ let us out, we might just be inclined to do some very nasty things to your mother and your friends."

"You wouldn't dare," I said. "I'll tell the Sonozakis..."

"Hah! Thought you said you'd been listening. Don't you know who's employing us? All it would take would be one little phone call, and your precious mother would have to run away very fast if she wants to escape."

"You're lying!" I shouted back. "Mother's friends with the Sonozakis... they'd never..."

"Do you want to take the risk and find out?" Scar said with a mocking laugh. I heard the beeping of a phone. "Hello, Sonozaki-san?"

"_Stop!_" I cried. I couldn't think. How could he be talking to the Sonozakis? And where the hell was Karen?

He laughed. "You want me to stop, kid? Then open the door."

"You're bluffing!" I screamed. "It could be anyone on the other end of that phone."

"Oh, you think so?" he said with a sneer. "You're friends with Sonozaki Akito, aren't you? Okay, then – his bedroom is the sixth room on the right on the upper floor –"

"Is that the best you can do? _Anyone_ could find that out."

"His sister, Kotone, went to the clinic yesterday about a rash on her left arm –"

"So you've been spying on my friends?" I snarled. "How cowardly."

"Not at all; it was Akane-san who told me," Scar replied. "I'm on good terms with the Sonozaki family, you see."

"Liar!"

His voice dropped to a menacing calm. "All right, you want proof? The twins switched places on the day Mion was given the tattoo. Mion is really Shion, and vice versa. Only someone _very_ close to the family would know that."

I was stunned into silence. I wanted to scream "Liar!" – but I knew he was right.

"So, are you going to be a good little girl and let us out, Saki-chan? Or do you want us to set the Sonozakis loose on your mother?"

"They would never hurt her! She's their closest friend!"

"Oh, she's a close friend of the twins," Scar sneered. "But you do really not think there are people in the family who'd be glad to get rid of her?"

"And you think they'd risk a war with the rest of the family just because _you_ said so?"

Scar laughed in a way that made me want to reach through the door and punch him.

"We don't have to tell them the whole truth. We can just say that Fujiura knows about the body and has to be silenced – and that would be that."

I trembled. I didn't understand this at all. A voice within me was screaming, _Don't listen to him! He's just bluffing, saying whatever he thinks will make you open the door, adding little bits of the truth to make it sound convincing. You mustn't give in!_

But I couldn't move; I couldn't make myself turn and run. He knew about the Sonozaki twins; and it was true, no-one outside the inner circle of the family knew that. And if they really were intimate with some of the Sonozakis – oh, they weren't one big happy family by any means. Some of them really would have been happy to start a war just to upset the balance of power.

"I'll give you ten seconds to decide," said Scar. "Ten. Nine..."

I took a deep breath, and turned the key. I had to. They could hurt me as much as they liked; it didn't matter, just so long as they left Mother alone! This was all my fault, after all.

"_At last!_" Beard snapped, jumping past Scar and grabbing me round the throat. I winced in pain, but I clenched my teeth and managed to stop myself crying out.

"Be gentle with her," said Scar. "She's just a kid. She didn't know what she was doing."

"The hell I will!" cried Beard. "She needs to be taught a lesson." And he slapped me hard across the cheek. It hurt, and there was a foul reek all around him. I bit my lip. _I must not cry_. The daughter of Fujiura Satoko should be stronger than that. And no-one would hear me anyway.

"Come here, kid," said Scar. His voice was gentler, almost soothing, but I was not fooled. Still, I knew there was no point in trying to run; it would only have made them more angry. And Beard had positioned himself between me and the door. So, I stepped forward. My heart was bouncing around like a tennis ball; I felt it was about to be served at tremendous speed from my chest. Scar leered down at me, showing rows of sparkling teeth. Defiantly, I lifted my head and glared at him.

"What do you want?" I said. I tried to make myself sound strong, but somehow, my voice faded into a faint breath like a vanishing breeze. It wouldn't have worked anyway. I was trembling too much. Beard stood there laughing. _Damn him!_

"Come down here," said Scar, indicating the way down into the cellar. I looked frantically around. Beard still stood blocking any possibility of escape, and there was nothing I could use as a weapon. "You've lost. Time for you to face your punishment game, little girl."

"What's the point?" I burst out. "Why are you doing this?"

He fixed a fiery glare on me. "Does it matter why?" he said. "Let's just say you need to find out what happens to naughty little girls around here."

I knew. And that thought helped me to keep going as I started down the stairs, one step at a time, as slowly as I dared. _This is so they don't hurt Mother. I'm not afraid. Just so long as they don't hurt her... what happens to me doesn't matter._

We were thrust suddenly into darkness as Beard slammed the door behind us. I think I was near the bottom of the stairs already. I just felt Scar lifting me up, and then a moment of weightlessness followed by a nauseating crunch as I landed with gravity at the wrong angle.

Then he shoved me down onto the floor, and my breath was cut short as he pressed a hand down onto my neck to keep me still, while the other reached down and tore open my blouse.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

It's been a while. After I came back from my holiday, I decided to go on a training course. It went well, but it occupied all my time for a month and left me with a lot of stuff to catch up on afterwards. Not only that, but I now have _four_ fanfics in progress. So I'm afraid that updates will continue to be slow.

However, from now on I'll try to stick to a schedule of at least one update (for each story) per month. Maybe more, depending on how much time I have.

I'm very grateful for the supportive reviews I've received; it means a lot to me to know that some readers have missed my story. I hope that the direction the story is taking isn't going to lose that support. Writing the end of this chapter, and the next, was very painful. But I feel that, as Tolkien would put it, this is what happened, and to alter the story because I'm not comfortable with it would be inauthentic.


	43. Part III Ch 8 It's My Chapter

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**8  
>It's My Chapter, and I'll Cry if I Want to<strong>

Well?

What do you _expect_ me to say?

Do you really want me to tell you what happened next? For Oyashiro-sama's sake, why?

And what kind of person does that make you?

Oh, I see. You want to _understand_ me. That's better, I suppose. But do you really think that will help me at all? You'll only hurt yourself. And that doesn't take away from my pain.

It's rule six of trapmastery. Know when to stop. There are doors you shouldn't open, and thresholds you shouldn't cross. I put that chapter break there for a reason, you know. You didn't have to turn the page. I can't take responsibility for that. It was your decision.

...are you still there?

Well then, all I can say is that you're a silly young fool, and I've seen enough horror flicks to know that it's always the ones like you who go first.

And now that I've said my piece, I'll go on with the story.

I was there, in the cellar. Everything was dark, except for a thin trace of light coming under the door. It gave the room a faint haze, just enough that I could see clouds of thundery grey hovering over me as I stared up at the ceiling. That was odd. Maybe I was outdoors, but if so, then I couldn't remember how I'd got there. There was a powerful storm coming. Hadn't we already had enough rain this week? It was moist and sticky, and the wind was coming up-river, over the farmlands, bringing a stench of smoke and smouldering mulch.

I don't know how long I lay there. There was something hypnotic in the way the clouds swirled past; I felt like I was outside time, unable to move. I reached out with a trembling hand, trying to find something to grip onto. My hand pressed against a rough surface. Shards of broken stone dug into my skin. I wanted to move, to ease the pain a little, and I found that I couldn't. It was as if a heavy weight was pressing me down. Or maybe my legs just hurt so much they wouldn't respond. Why was I in so much pain? I couldn't understand it at all.

I thought of calling for help, but there was clearly no-one there. Where had everyone gone? They must have deserted me because they were afraid to get involved. I couldn't blame them. I should have known all along that it would end like this. I had read it in their eyes, that night when we hid the corpse in the Labyrinth. Akito had never wanted anything to do with it. I had managed to persuade Naoya, but he had always had doubts. It was no surprise that he wanted out, as soon as he'd had more time to think about it. So I was alone –

A sharp pain ran up my side. I couldn't just lie here, helpless. Even if the others weren't on my side, surely they would come if I cried out? But I couldn't. Somehow, I just didn't have the strength left. My throat was choked with dust, and I couldn't work out which way to move to reach some air. I tried to press into the ground, to lift myself up; but as soon as I applied any pressure, everything just hurt so much that I had to let go.

There was a slow, grinding creak, like a door opening somewhere out of sight. Thank goodness. Time still existed, then. A soft beam of light came down towards me. I turned my head up to meet it. Perhaps I had died, and the doorway gleaming above me was the entrance to heaven. In the doorway stood a silhouette, a woman's, with hair flickering around her like flames. An angel of death. I didn't need to call out. I was right in the middle of the light. I knew she had seen me.

Another shadow rose up from the floor, blocking my view. The woman drew a long hissing breath.

"What's going on?" she said. Her voice was sharp and cold as ice.

The only answer was a metallic clicking noise.

"Don't bother," she said. "I know. You thought you'd have some fun because we're deep under ground where no-one can hear us. Well, tough for you, here I am. What are you going to do about it – shoot me?"

And suddenly, I realised that I knew that voice. It was Sonozaki Chiharu, Karen's sister.

I lifted my head up to scream at her, "_Run!_" But no words came out; only the rasping ghost of a broken whisper.

Something thudded into place, and I knew that the man was pointing a gun at her.

The shot that followed might have blown up the world; I could feel nothing except the enormous sound of the explosion. Then the world started to settle back into place, though the room was still shaking as if an earthquake had struck. And the man was tilting back, desperately struggling to grab onto the wall, onto anything that would stop him from falling; but there was nothing there, and he fell, landing on the floor with a heavy thump.

I found that I could lift my head up, just a little. Enough to look down on the shape that lay on the floor in front of me. It was the man with the scar on his face. Blood was leaking out of him and oozing into a black puddle that spread across the floor.

He was dead. I knew that at once. I'm not a little kid any more; I've seen enough to know death when I see it. Chiharu had just killed him. _Why?_ I mean... I know the Sonozakis aren't exactly _safe_. They're on our side, but they are still yakuza. But we're at peace. Everyone knows not to mess with the Sonozakis, and so they leave us alone. There couldn't be a war on that I didn't know about. So what was it? Perhaps she thought he and the other man were the ones who killed that person we found. No – that didn't make any sense. How could she have known?

My head was in the air at last, and I breathed deeply. Chiharu had come all the way down into the cellar now. Her clothes were black, except for white gloves that seemed to emerge from empty space. I could only see her face – black hair and pale features, impossibly beautiful.

"Chiharu-san!" I called out. I had made a sound, at least. But if she heard, she paid me no attention as she strode past. I caught the glint of metal where she twirled a gun in her fingers. She crossed the room towards the back wall, where the other man, the one with a beard, was waiting.

"You," said Chiharu. "Anything to say?"

Silence.

"Chiharu-san!" I cried, pushing my voice against a torrent of wind that forced it back into my throat. "Please... please don't shoot him..."

Somehow, I managed to get to my feet. I was trembling so much, the flutter of a paper fan could have blown me over. All around me, the ghosts of this house were laughing. All this was just a show to them; every cry and every stab of pain was fodder that sated their hunger for revenge. Scar and Beard had been driven here to kill that man, and now it was their turn, first one and then the other. Beard was cowering in the corner. The ghosts would love that. The look of fear in his eyes would be like a banquet to them.

Chiharu still couldn't hear me – but I thought I understood now, and I didn't try to call out again. The ghosts had taken hold of her, made her their instrument. She strode across the floor as if she were a puppet, and a string was dragging her along. The gun glinted again. She fired down at Beard, and his leg burst apart. The last of his strength deserted him, and he dropped like a broken doll. All his weight came down on that wound, and he gave a scream from the very gates of hell.

"You were quite right." Chiharu's voice still had no emotion. She had become the angel of death I had taken her for. "There's no-one to hear us down here. You can scream as much as you want. So, shall I make it quick and painless, or shall I just leave you to die in your own time?"

He held his leg tightly and screwed up his face as he fought back the pain, just enough to let him speak. "You... you're making a big mistake," he said. "We're just doing what we have to do... to avert the disaster. But it's too late..."

Chiharu snorted with contempt. "What disaster?"

"They're coming – the Kanahebi. They'll come down on the village, and the Sonozakis will be wiped out..."

"And you think assaulting a child is going to prevent that?"

He shuddered with fear. He wasn't even trying to look up at her any more.

"She had to be taught a lesson. To stop her spreading the alarm, and spoiling our plans."

Chiharu stepped towards him, and rammed her gun straight into his temple. I screamed.

"_What are you talking about?_"

Beard made a harsh rasping noise that might have been choking, until I realised that he was laughing. Perhaps, even if only for a moment, he too had seen the ghosts, and understood how meaningless everything was, that he was nothing more than food for them.

"You bloody fool," he said. "All of you – you're all fools. Sitting there so complacent in your manor... there's a traitor in your ranks. He's dug out the foundations, and the house will fall."

"Who?" said Chiharu. "Who is the traitor? Tell me, and I'll grant you the mercy of a quick death."

"It doesn't matter now. It's too late. The plan has failed... I'll see you all in hell. Kill me or not, I don't care."

Slowly, Chiharu turned his head up and pushed the gun under his chin –

"Don't!" I cried. But all that came out was a sob that hovered for a moment in the air, and then vanished.

The cellar was filled with an explosion whose echo seemed to go on for ever.

Beard shuddered, and his head wilted. He whispered, "_Look at his face_" – and then he fell to the floor, and I knew he was dead.

Chiharu drew a long sigh, and then turned to face me, as if she'd only just remembered that I was there.

"Saki," she said quietly. It was strange. There was emotion in her voice again, but it was the _wrong_ emotion, like mixing a meal with too many spices, creating an overpowering suffusion that made me reel away.

Chiharu caught her breath. A hand reached towards me. "Saki-chan," she said. "Are you... did you... what I mean is... did I get here too late?"

I looked blankly up at her.

She shook her head. "Damn, I'm no good at this. We should get you to the clinic."

"The... the clinic, Chiharu-san?"

She ignored the question. "Are you in pain anywhere?"

"Everywhere." I staggered; I suddenly felt an overwhelming temptation to crumple up and let Chiharu carry me out of there. But that wouldn't do at all.

My eyes wandered over the floor. Flashes of memory kept coming back to me, as if I was stumbling through a narrow cave with sharp walls that stung whenever I fell against them. That shadow on the floor: that man had pushed me down, hadn't he? Was that why I hurt so much?

Chiharu sighed. "Saki-chan, I'm sorry. I came as fast as I could. But, you know... it's going to be all right. It's over. They can't hurt you any more."

I stared down at where Scar was lying, a huddled mass of black with streaks of red. No movement. One shot and he was gone, just like that. I looked back up at Chiharu. She had killed him, and she looked as calm as if we were strolling in the hills together. _Why?_ Just because he had hurt me? That made no sense. Chiharu was barely even a friend; she was the cousin of my cousin, whatever that makes her. We only vaguely knew each other. I looked up at Chiharu again. She was still holding that pistol; it rocked back and forth as her arm swayed. I trembled.

Chiharu suddenly seemed to notice where I was looking. She shook her head and dropped the pistol to the floor. "Listen to me, Saki," she said. "It'll be all right. You don't have to worry about me getting into any trouble for this. The family will understand, when I tell them what those men... I mean, what they were going to do to you..." Her voice seemed to fall apart like a shower of autumn leaves as she noticed the way I was looking up at her, frozen, uncomprehending.

She sighed. "Well, if you just straighten up your clothes a little, we can get out of here."

I bent down and fumbled with the fastenings of my skirt. For some reason, my fingers kept quivering, and I felt like I was fighting against them to keep them steady. While I was doing this, Chiharu walked over and looked down at Scar. What was there to look at? He was nothing more than a lump on the floor.

Oh, yeah – the other one had said, "Look at his face." Chiharu bent over him and, showing no emotion, turned him over so she could see his face. Her sharp breath cut the silence like a knife.

"_Shit._"

"Chiharu-san?" I whispered. "What is it?"

"Tsushima Shouichi." She hurried over to where Beard was lying, and tugged at his chin. His beard came away in her hand. "And Kenji, of course. He was right. This changes everything. Saki... I'm afraid we can't tell the family any more. They'd never believe us."

I walked slowly over to her. I still didn't understand what she was saying. What had she wanted to tell the family, and why was it important? "What are you going to do?" I asked her.

"I'm sorry, Saki-chan," she said. "I'll try to make this as quick as I can. But I can't let you out of my sight, in case there are more of them around. So you just stand in the corner and turn your back. This won't be pleasant to watch."

"Watch... what?"

She flicked on a torch, and ran the beam across the cellar wall. A number of old objects lay there, so dusty and crumbled I could not make most of them out. But I recognised the object Chiharu picked up: it was a bent section of a lead pipe.

"Chiharu-san?"

"Turn around," she said coldly. "I don't have time to argue."

I turned around.

"Now be a good little girl and count to one thousand."

I closed my eyes and started to count. If I concentrated hard enough, maybe I could close out the world and not hear the blow that was about to fall –

_Thud._

I didn't need to look to know just what that sound meant. In the complete darkness I could see it as though it were happening right in front of me: his dead skin buckling under the strength of the blow, then breaking apart to reveal a pulpy mass underneath, just like the body we had found in this very cellar – was that really only the day before yesterday?

_Thud._

The whole room seemed to tremble with the ripples from the blow. Somewhere in the house above us, something loose had slipped and started to rattle. Or was it the sound of the ghosts' teeth clattering as they looked on and laughed? They must be loving this. Things had gone just as they wanted, bringing the cycle round again: some helpless, nameless victim had been lured into the trap, killed by those two men, and left in the darkness without a face; and now they in their turn had been lured back to the house, and one after the other –

_Crack._

She must have got right down to the bone now. And still I stood in the shadows and counted. _If I do this, if I get to one thousand, will you leave me unharmed?_ I had to believe it. That thought was all I had left to hang on to. If I could get there, I would be safe, this would all be over, I could go home again and nothing terrible would have happened. Yet it seemed so far away.

_Crunch._

There wasn't even a bone left, only fragments and splinters.

_Why?_ Why were they doing this to me? It wasn't my fault... I wasn't the one who killed that man, I'd just found him! But perhaps I'd done something to anger the ghosts when I'd been in my den. That must be it. Though I'd always treated them with respect, or at least, I thought I had. More likely, it was just that I'd _been_ there, and they needed a victim. I had no right to complain. I just had to keep on counting, and eventually they would leave me in peace.

_Squelch._

I couldn't listen any more; it was just too horrible. I started to count out loud, faster and faster, in the hope that it would make those sounds go away. Still so far to go. I paused. The room was in silence now; perhaps Chiharu had finished? I waited. Then came the sound of footsteps. Of course. She was crossing the room to the _other_ body, to begin her work all over again. I clasped my hands tightly together, and counted as fast as I could.

At last the room was quiet again, or at least, I could hear nothing except the sound of my own voice. My shoulders ached, and I was getting an itch in my arm. But there was nothing I could do about it. I'd set myself this task, and I had to persevere to the end –

"Saki-chan?"

Was there a voice saying my name? There couldn't be. I hadn't finished.

"_Saki-chan!_"

A hand came down on my shoulder. I shrieked. _It couldn't be – he was dead!_

"Let me go, please let me go, I'll get there, I promise..."

"Saki-chan, you can stop counting." No, it wasn't his voice. Why couldn't I see who it was in front of me? This was some kind of trick. I couldn't let them distract me; I had to finish! She was trying to get hold of my shoulders again. I twisted and squirmed, and ran, nowhere in particular, just desperate to get away. I curled up in a corner and pressed myself against the wall, taking up as little space as I could so that she wouldn't find me.

She was treading slowly towards me, her hands probing in the darkness. "Saki-chan!" she called out again, in a voice that sounded almost desperate. "_Please_. I know... I know I'm not the right person for this... I know I can't do anything to help... we've just got to _get out of here_, and then I can take you to the clinic... or your mother, or Rika-sama... _please!_ Listen to me, Saki-chan! Why are you doing this to yourself?"

I said nothing. I'd only got as far as seven hundred and twenty-nine. But I still scowled into the darkness as if there were some way it could reach her. Didn't she understand, I hadn't chosen to do this, I had to pacify the ghosts? I knew now how harsh and unforgiving they were. If she kept on taking them so lightly, she would be next...

"Damn," she said. "I really, _really_ didn't want to have to do this." Squelch. "What did I just put my hand in?" She sighed. "Are you listening, Saki-chan? Junpei's going to be really pleased if I come home with blood and brains all over my hands. Are you listening to me, you silly girl? This is all because you won't just do as you're told!"

Silence.

"Saki-chan?" she said, almost in a whisper. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that! I know... I know that you're hurting, I really do, but I just want to get us both out of here!" She switched on the torch again. I shrank back as the beam probed around the cellar and passed just over my head. There wasn't so far to go now, but I _had_ to finish before she found me.

"You don't have to hide from me," she said. "Saki-chan, I know what it's like, I really do. If it makes any difference, it happened to me once. I was working at Angel Mort, and some men attacked me on my way home. They caught me by surprise, or it wouldn't have been so easy for them." Her voice became lower and harsher, as if something cold had taken hold of it. "None of them escaped alive. So you can see why I don't talk about it. But I do understand what you're going through. You don't have to be afraid of me."

_No._ You don't understand. I'm not afraid of you, or of anyone. If someone hurts me, I can get up again. But if the ghosts are going to curse me, there's nothing you can do to save me...

The dust was getting in my throat, and I coughed.

"_There_ you are," Chiharu said with a big sigh of relief. "Come on, Saki-chan. Let's go."

I no longer had the strength to resist as she slipped an arm under mine and hauled me to my feet. We set off across the cellar. There was a crunch under Chiharu's feet as she trod on a fragment of bone. Now there would be two more vengeful ghosts lying in wait for the next victim.

And then the cellar was behind us and we were out into the open air again. It was late evening, and the cicadas were chirruping all around us, crying for the dead. Girls, men, saints or murderers, it made no difference to them.

Chiharu had taken hold of my hand, and set a rapid pace through the empty streets. It suddenly occurred to me that there was _still_ no sign of Karen. Wasn't she supposed to be watching? But we were moving too fast for me to say anything. I just had to blank out my thoughts for a while. We would be home soon, and then I could be by myself at last.

Chiharu released my hand, and let herself in through our complicated gate. She knocked on the door, and a moment later, Azusa answered it.

"_Saki!_" she cried as soon as she saw me. Chiharu was standing close by, so she didn't throw her arms round me, but I could see on her face that she wanted to. "Thank Oyashiro-sama you're back! But, Saki, what on earth's happened to you?"

"I can explain," Chiharu said quickly. "Can we come in? I need to talk to you and Satoko."

"Sure, come in," said Azusa. "Um... I'm afraid Satoko isn't back yet."

"Where is she?"

Azusa closed her eyes. "I don't know. She's been gone all day, and I think her phone's off."

I stared at her. _Mother... isn't home?_

"I'll wait for her," said Chiharu. "Saki-chan, you'd better go upstairs and get washed. I'm going to call Rika-sama and get her to come round. You can talk to her."

"Rika-sama?" said Azusa. "Chiharu-san, I don't..."

"I'll explain," Chiharu said firmly. "Off you go, Saki-chan."

She took Azusa's arm and gently led her towards the kitchen. I ran upstairs, and tore my clothes off as fast as I could. There was so much muck and soil on them, as well as stripes of blood. I never wanted to look at them again. I screwed them up into a ball and hurled them into a corner.

It felt like it was a long time later that I came back downstairs. I was in my dressing-gown, which was no way to appear in front of a Sonozaki family member, but I didn't care. I found them in the kitchen, Azusa and Chiharu, sitting across the table from each other in dead silence. Chiharu still had blood all over her clothes, and Azusa was staring at the wall as though she couldn't bear to look round at her. Her eyes were parched and swollen.

"What... what's wrong?" I said. "Is Mother..."

Azusa shook her head. "I'm sorry, Saki," she said. "I'm afraid your mother isn't coming home."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

One of the perils of writing serial fiction over a long period of time is that it's not really fair to expect readers to remember as far back as they could in a conventional novel. So, if you don't remember who the Tsushimas are, they appeared in Part II, Chapter 2. Chiharu has also appeared before (II.9). Junpei, who is named for the first time in this chapter, has been alluded to before (II.4). He will make his first on-screen appearance in Part IV.

I'm really sorry about the long delay of this chapter. I can't say too much, but I'm going through a difficult stage in my life. Still, it's the start of a new year, and that's a good chance to take stock and try to get things moving faster again. Anyway, regardless of how long it takes, I promise the story will be finished!


	44. Part III Ch 9 I Have No Mother

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**9  
>I Have No Mother, and I Must Scream<br>**

I stood frozen in the doorway. There was no sound. The world had died around me.

"What?" I said. "Azusa... what do you mean?"

As though time had suddenly decided to start again, Azusa rushed over with a tremendous clatter, and drew me into a tight squeeze. Chiharu was still there, but she didn't care who saw it.

"My poor darling child," she said. "This is so unfair... why did it have to be Satoko?"

I pushed her away and stared at her. _Mother?_ If something had happened to Mother because of me...

"_What happened?_"

Azusa wiped her eyes, but she was still trembling and sobbing as she tried to speak.

"Chiharu-san phoned Rika-san just now... well, she tried to... It was Suguru-kun who answered the phone..."

I stamped my foot.

"He didn't know where Rika-san was. She'd been gone all evening. Then he went out to have another look... he... and he..." Azusa's voice trailed off, and the tears that had been building up inside her burst out all at once in a flood.

"He found them both in the Saiguden," said Chiharu. "Rika-sama and Satoko-san."

_In the Saiguden? For Rika, that wouldn't count as missing... unless... but you can't mean..._

I looked across at Azusa for confirmation. Her eyes were tightly screwed up. She couldn't look at me.

"I'm sorry," said Chiharu. "I'm really sorry."

Her voice had no emotion in it. She just didn't know how to convey her feelings.

"But – what – happened?" I said again.

"Saki, my poor child," said Azusa. "I'm afraid... Rika-san and Satoko were both dead. This is so horrible... they were killed... murdered..."

She let out a wail, and pressed me against her again. I felt stifled. I struggled loose, and grabbed onto a chair to stop myself falling. I don't think I cried. I don't remember. It's all a blank.

"Killed?" I said after a long silence. "But who... why?"

It made no sense. If Mother's death was the punishment for my offence... why _Rika?_ She'd done nothing; she hadn't even gone anywhere near the house! She couldn't have, considering her pregnancy. And now she was dead too, and I would have to hide, I couldn't face the others again. Little Kizuna's sweet, melancholy face came into my mind, and I let out a colossal scream.

I think Azusa held onto me and tried to calm me down. I'm not sure what Chiharu did. Emi wandered into the room, and whimpered up at me. Poor dog, she didn't understand any of this. But she knew, somehow, that we were all sad, and she knew that she had no words of comfort to offer us. Perhaps she was hurting worse than any of us.

Then the doorbell rang, and Chiharu got up to answer it. It wasn't her house, but even so, it somehow felt natural that she should take charge of the situation. I was so helpless.

Voices. And then Akito and Naoya came in, and hovered awkwardly in the doorway. Azusa stood up, made an attempt at wiping away her tears, and got chairs out for everyone. But the boys ignored the chairs. Akito ran over and hugged me, while Naoya made a series of bows and fumbled a few words about how sorry they were to hear the terrible news.

"How can such a thing have happened?" said Akito.

I whimpered. How could I even begin to tell him about the ghosts, and my ordeal in the cellar, when Azusa and Chiharu were right there?

"I can't bring myself to think about it," said Azusa. "Rika-san, especially – who would do such a horrible thing to her? Everyone in the village loved her."

"There's more than that," said Naoya. "You won't have heard yet – Suguru-san just found out after he phoned you. Yanagida and his acolytes were all killed too. Their bodies were found on the steps leading up to the shrine, Yanagida's at the very top."

"All – killed?" Azusa said faintly.

"I don't know what happened, but it was something crazy," said Akito.

"Yanagida's acolytes were healthy young men," said Chiharu. "One person couldn't have overpowered them all. This must have been the work of a gang."

A gang. Chiharu's words brought a flash of memory back to me. _"They're coming – the Kanahebi. They'll come down on the village, and the Sonozakis will be wiped out..."_

I screamed again.

"Saki!" Akito clasped my hand tightly. "Please – don't scream – I know this is hard –"

I wriggled free and ran out of the room.

* * *

><p>The next thing I remember, I was in my bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed with my feet swinging, enshrouded in the blanket like an Egyptian mummy. A knock on the door made me look up, and Akito walked in without waiting for a reply. Naoya followed close behind him, but he stayed in the doorway, while Akito sat down next to me and put an arm round my shoulder.<p>

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Listen, Saki – I know there's nothing we can do to make anything better, but I promise you, we'll find the people who did this and we'll make them pay. By 'we', I mean the Sonozakis, of course. We'd never stand for something like this in our own territory."

I whimpered. "There's nothing you can do, Akito-kun."

"What do you mean?"

I just closed my eyes and tried to shut him out. What was the point in discussing it, even? I just wanted to die. I deserved to die. I _had_ to die, so that I wouldn't hurt anyone else, so that I couldn't ruin any more lives as I had ruined so many already. I could just sit here and wait... Akito would get tired eventually and leave me, and I would just curl up and remain motionless until my heart finally gave up and stopped beating.

"Saki," Akito said gently. "Please talk to me."

Well, if he wasn't going to go away, perhaps it would easiest to say something...

"It's all coming true," I mumbled. "Just like that man said it would."

"What man? What did he say?"

I was already beginning to regret saying anything. Now Akito _really_ wouldn't go away.

"That man... in the cellar. He was... he was one of the two who killed that man we found."

"_Shit!_" Akito practically jumped out of his skin. "_They came back?_ Saki, why in the name of Oyashiro-sama didn't you tell us?"

I huddled myself deeper into the blanket. "I couldn't! I'd run out of battery, and then they wouldn't let me get away, and then... then Chiharu-san came in and killed them both..."

"Thank goodness," said Akito. "Saki-chan, they didn't hurt you, did they?"

I shook my head vehemently. And then looked up at Naoya.

"_Get away from there!_"

He was still standing there, just watching us, so close to where I'd discarded my bloodied clothes. Damn his inquisitive eyes! Why hadn't I just thrown them away as soon as I got home, or burned them?

Akito froze. Naoya just gazed down at me, as though I were one of the small animals he likes to study. I fixed him with an icy glare, and he hastily backed away. Good. The doorframe was between him and the bundle. But how much had he already seen – or guessed? It was always so difficult to read him!

"Saki, calm down," said Akito. "We're here for you. We're your friends, remember? No-one's ever going to hurt you as long as you've got us."

"But – those men –" I couldn't stop myself shaking.

"What is it?"

"_Someone warned them to go back to the house!_" I cried. "Akito – someone, one of us, one of the people who was in the room that night – someone's betrayed us!"

"Nonsense!" Akito said at once.

"It's not nonsense, it's true!" And even in spite of how I felt at that moment, it was just a natural instinct to look up at Naoya for support.

"I think you're jumping to conclusions, Saki-chan," he said.

"_You weren't there!_" I screamed. (Next to me, Akito winced and started rubbing his ear.) "They _knew_ they had to go back, because they knew we'd found the body!"

"But how?" said Akito. "Look at me, Saki. Look me right in the eyes. That's good. Now, do you really think that I would ever betray you?"

Slowly, I shook my head.

"Good. Of course I wouldn't. You're an annoying little brat, but you're also my cousin, and we stick together. If you were ever in trouble, I... I'd die to save you. You know that, don't you?"

"Easy enough to say," I couldn't help blurting out.

"What do you –" Akito began. Naoya cut him off with a tap on his shoulder, and the two of them exchanged an inscrutable look.

"Anyway," said Akito, "my point is, we're comrades, and none of us would ever betray the others. Naoya-kun –"

"We can't be absolutely certain about Miaka-chan," Naoya said morosely.

Akito jumped as if he'd been stung. "I trust Miaka," he said.

"But you know she's not been in the village long – just over two weeks."

"All the more reason why she wouldn't betray us!" Akito said hotly. "Why would she care anything about the Sonozakis and our affairs?"

Naoya sighed. "I'm just saying, that's all," he said. "Saki _could_ be right. And in that case, we will have to tread very carefully."

"Why are you doing this?" Akito hissed at him.

Naoya pulled out a beanbag and sat down heavily. "Look, I'm just saying that we need to think about this rationally," he said. "Yesterday, I'd have said it was unthinkable that Rika-sama would be brutally murdered. Yet here we are. So let's try not to use the word 'never'."

Akito glared at him, but remained silent.

"Naoya-kun," I whispered through my tears, "do... do you know who killed Mother and Rika-sama?"

"I wish I did," he said heavily. "If we knew, then one way or another, we'd make sure they got what's coming to them. So let's see what we know and try to put it all together."

"All right," said Akito.

"Right." Naoya took a deep breath. "So, first, we discovered a dead body in the empty house. We moved it to the Labyrinth – the three of us, together with Miaka-chan and Karen-san. The next day, the killers returned to the house to look for the body, and – what happened?"

I started to shiver as I was forced to remember. It was like standing in total darkness and trying desperately to make out a shape at the other end of the room. Akito tried to put a hand on my shoulder again, but I flinched away.

"Naoya-kun...," Akito said.

"We need to work this out together," said Naoya. He came closer and knelt on the floor in front of me. "It's all right, Saki-chan. I know this hurts, and there's nothing we can do about that. Whatever it is you're going through, we're here for you. We won't let you be hurt again, I swear."

"Th... thank you," I said, stretching out a hand to clasp his.

"So," said Naoya, "do you want to tell us what happened? You don't have to..."

I took a deep breath. I couldn't remember much, but flashes of memory were starting to come back to me. "One of the men... grabbed hold of me to stop me getting away," I said. "He was hurting me. Then Chiharu-san came in, and she... she shot them both..."

"_Chiharu_ came in?" said Akito. "But how did she know where to find you?"

"Perhaps from Karen-san?" said Naoya.

"But then why didn't Karen show up herself?" said Akito.

"I... I don't know," I sobbed. "She let me down. She was meant to be watching the house... and she never showed up. I didn't see her at all."

"And you didn't ask Chiharu where she was?"

I shook my head. "I didn't think of it, Akito-kun. I'm sorry. I just felt so hurt."

"I am going to have words with Karen about this," said Akito.

"Akito-kun... please don't. It's over now. It won't do any good."

"That's no excuse for letting her get away with this!" said Akito. He slammed one fist against the other. "Running off when she was meant to be looking after you! I'll make damn sure she gets a fingernailing for this!"

"I wouldn't do that, Akito-kun," Naoya said quietly.

"Huh?"

Naoya never showed much emotion, but he was frowning now, and I knew that meant he was deeply concerned.

"We can't rule out the possibility that Karen-san is the one who gave us away," he said. "In which case, if we allow her to think we suspect her..."

Akito shivered. "You really think...," he began. "But no. I won't believe it. No Sonozaki would ever do that."

"That's what those men said," I said involuntarily.

"What did they say?"

I winced as a sudden rush of pain struck through me; calling up the memory was like being there in the cellar and being hurt all over again. But I had to go on.

"They said there was a traitor in the Sonozaki family. They said that was why they had to hide the body... so the traitor wouldn't know they suspected him or her. They said if Chiharu killed them, the traitor's plan would succeed and the Kanahebi would wipe out the Sonozakis..."

"What!" Akito cried.

"The Kanahebi, Saki-chan?" said Naoya. "Are you sure they said that?"

I nodded.

"But... but then... this murder..."

"It was _them_?" said Akito. "_They_ are the ones who killed Aunt Satoko and Rika-sama?"

"It fits," Naoya said grimly. "Yanagida's an old man, but his priests would put up a fight. We're looking for a gang here, not a single murderer. And to commit a gang murder in Sonozaki territory... it would have to be a strong organisation, who weren't afraid of reprisals..."

"_But why?_" Akito screamed. "Why kill Aunt Satoko?"

Naoya sighed. "Well, she is... I mean, she _was_... the village trapmaster. If it came to a battle, having her on our side would be worth at least a hundred soldiers. That battle she and the others won against Takano Miyo is legendary."

Akito gulped. He couldn't deny the truth of Naoya's words.

"And... and Rika-sama?"

"Well, Rika-sama and the priests my have been killed just because Satoko-san was at the shrine and it was a convenient moment to get rid of her." Naoya glanced towards me. "Saki-chan, I'm sorry... you know that we have to talk this through..."

"I know," I said woodenly. Matters of club policy were no longer something I cared about. Akito and Naoya would decide what to do. I would just sit here and let the world take whatever course it chose.

Akito was really shaking now. "_What can we do?_"

"Warn Mion-sama and the rest of the family," said Naoya.

"Of course!" cried Akito. "You're right, we must. Saki, I know this is difficult for you, but you have to come with us and tell Mother and Aunt Mion everything that happened to you. Do you think you can manage that?"

"I..." I stopped. I didn't know what to say. I still hurt so much, I could hardly stand up, let alone leave the house. And talking to Akito and Naoya was one thing; they were teenagers; they were sensible and knew how to react. Adults would be all over me, fussing and fretting and generally making me wish I could disappear through the floorboards.

But this wouldn't do at all. Mother had been a woman of such tremendous courage. I didn't know what had happened in the Saiguden, but I was _sure_ she hadn't gone down without a fight. She would have stared her killers in the eyes and spat defiance in their faces to the last. I had to make her spirit proud of me.

"I'll do it," I said. "Come on, what are we waiting for?"

"That's my girl," said Akito, and he gripped my hand. I gave him a wan smile, and the three of us hurried downstairs. When we got to the kitchen, Chiharu had gone, and Suguru was sitting with Azusa, the two of them holding each other and crying together. Akito stopped to tell Azusa where we were going, in the determined tones I expected from our club leader. Azusa just looked up and smiled at me, so tearfully that I felt my heart was being wrenched apart. But this had to be done. The whole village was in danger – even little Kotone, who always smiled so sweetly! It was as Akito had said: we were comrades. I would have gone through any hardship to make sure that no sorrow ever touched her beautiful face.

We stepped outside, and were greeted by a bitterly cold wind. I was still in my dressing-gown. I huddled it tightly around me, and stumbled on. Akito and Naoya walked one on each side of me, ready to catch me if I fell. We must have made a comical procession, but if anyone had been out to see us, no doubt they would just have assumed we were up to one of our penalty games. We made our way to Sonozaki Manor as rapidly as we could. The night was silent around us; the cicadas had done enough mourning for one night already.

Akito gave a strangled gasp as we approached the Manor. The front door stood slightly open, and in a house as well-run as the Sonozakis', that was unheard of! Urging us to hurry, he leapt up the doorstep and pushed the door fully open.

The hallway was dark. Akito rushed into the centre and called out, "Mother! Father! Aunt Mion! Is anyone at home?"

No answer, except a soft noise coming from the lounge. Akito threw off his outdoor shoes and practically ran down the corridor, leaving Naoya and me a long way behind.

When we caught up with Akito, he stood frozen in the doorway, and we moved to either side of him to see into the lounge. Uncle Satoshi and _Karen_, of all people, sat on the sofa holding each other. He was crying, and she was comforting him. Well, Mother had been his sister, and he'd loved her deeply. But where was Aunt Shion? Why wasn't _she_ the one to sit and comfort him?

"Father? Karen?" said Akito. "What's going on?"

Satoshi looked up and wiped his eyes as he struggled to speak.

"Your mother –" Karen began.

Satoshi convulsed. "No, let me tell them."

"Satoshi-kun, they have a right to know –"

"I'll handle it, all right?" He coughed nervously. "Akito... I'm afraid there's bad news. Your mother, Aunt Mion and Kotone are all missing. No-one knows where they are. And –"

He stopped. Akito was shaking as if a scream were trying to burst out of him.

"And what?" I squeaked. "What else, Uncle?"

Satoshi shook his head from side to side. "I called Kumagai at the shrine, just in case Shion had gone over there," he said. "And – Kizuna's gone missing too. Just vanished into thin air. It's just like the curse of Oyashiro-sama all over again."


	45. Part III Ch 10 Everybody Hurts

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**10  
>Everybody Hurts<br>**

We all stood frozen for a minute. This was too much to take in; it was all happening too fast. I don't know whether I'd really managed to accept yet that Mother wasn't coming back; and now Aunt Shion and Aunt Mion were gone, and Kotone and Kizuna! My world was crumbling to pieces around me, and there was nothing left I could hold onto for comfort. Even Akito and Naoya – they were scarcely the same boys I used to know.

Akito ran over and gave Uncle Satoshi a hug.

"It's going to be all right," he said. "Mother and Kotone – they'll come home. I promise."

"I wouldn't be so quick to make promises," Karen said coldly.

Akito whirled round at her. "How can you say that?" he cried. "They're not dead!"

"You cannot be sure of that."

"We can't just give up on them!"

Karen slowly rose to her feet, towering impressively above Akito. "I didn't say we should give up. But we have to be prepared for whatever we may find out. _You_ have to be prepared."

Akito faced her with hands on his hips. "What do you mean?"

Karen didn't blink. "After all, you are now the _de facto_ head of the Sonozaki family."

"What!" Akito cried. "That's nonsense! You can't say... just because Mother's been gone for what, a few hours?"

"Shion-san _and_ Mion-san," Karen reminded him. "This is a highly unusual circumstance already. What are we to do? Satoko-san has been murdered. The family must unite to hunt down the killer. We need a leader. We cannot just wait until Shion and Mion return – _if_ they return."

"I can't handle this!" Akito cried. "Why me?"

"Who else?" Karen said sternly. "You are the rightful heir, as I had occasion to remind you only yesterday. The family would stand behind you. Whereas if I or anyone else tried to take charge, they would start fighting and we wouldn't get anywhere."

"Karen's right," said Satoshi. "Akito, I'm sorry..."

"But why not you?" Akito said desperately. "You're an adult – I'm only fifteen!"

Satoshi sighed. "You know the answer to that," he said. "By birth, I'm a Houjou. There are some within the family who still don't trust me – who resent my position."

He lifted himself up, staggered slowly over to Akito, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I believe in you, son," he said. "You're our only hope."

"Our fearless leader," said Naoya.

"You can do it, Akito-kun!" I called out.

"I... all right," said Akito. "Let me get my head round this. The first thing we've got to do is find Mother, Aunt Mion and Kotone. Dad, where were they last seen?"

Satoshi and Karen exchanged one of those meaningful glances that adults are so good at. "Shion ran out of the house at around ten o'clock," said Satoshi. "She said she was going to the shrine, and – and that's the last anyone's seen of her." He shuddered and let out a sob.

Naoya ran over to comfort Satoshi, while Akito turned towards Karen.

"Mion left the house shortly afterwards, without saying where she was going," she said. "I've tried phoning both of them, but they're not responding. And it was only after that that we noticed Kotone was gone too. She should have been in bed, but her bedclothes were undisturbed."

Akito sighed. "Then we've got to start a search for them," he said. "How many men can we get on the job?"

Karen shook her head. "That won't be easy," she said. "Hiroshi's declared war on us, and I don't yet know how Uncle Yoshirou will respond to that. I'm not even sure about Father."

"Well, you talk to Uncle Saburou and get him on our side," Akito said firmly. "Where's Chiharu-san?"

"She went to the shrine to look for clues."

Akito nodded. "We need Kasai. Dad, can you speak to him?"

"Of course."

Finally, Akito turned back to me and Naoya. "We can make our own search party," he said. "Saki, I know that you're hurting right now, but at least this way we'll all be doing something." He took a deep breath. "We'll fetch Miaka, then we'll start by looking in Kotone's room to see if there are any clues to where she might have gone."

"I don't think we need to fetch Miaka," said Naoya.

"Huh? Why not?"

"There," he said, pointing towards the doorway. We all looked round.

Miaka staggered into the room, looking as if all the demons of Hinamizawa were riding the air beside her, poking and stinging her until she was numb to all feeling. Her red hair was so wild that it looked like flames dancing around her head; her face jolted with every movement as if she was struggling to keep back an invisible tear.

"Holy Oyashiro," said Akito. "Who _else_ is dead?"

I shuddered at his bluntness. Not that I would have done any better. We were all hurting too much to have time to think about wrapping our thoughts in soft words.

Miaka gulped and looked up to meet his eyes. "Irie-sensei," she whispered.

"_What!_" cried Akito. I knew that he hadn't _really_ expected Miaka to be bringing news of another death. "Irie-sensei? How... how did that happen?"

"It's horrible," she sobbed. "We'd just had supper together, and I went to bed... then I needed the toilet, and on my way, I saw that his light was on... I said his name, but there was no answer, so..."

She screwed up her face and burst into tears, and Akito ran over to wrap his arms around her. He wasn't crying; someone who didn't know him might have thought that he was unaffected. But I knew him well enough to know that as soon as he was alone again, the tears would fall freely.

"You don't have to tell us," he said.

"No, it's all right," said Miaka. "I went into his room, and... and there he was. Just sitting at the desk, as if it were a normal working day. Except that his eyes were closed, and he wouldn't move. There was a bottle in front of him. He'd killed himself by taking sleeping pills."

"Poor man," said Satoshi. "He really did love Satoko..."

"Do you think that's why he did it?" Naoya asked.

"I'm sure of it." Satoshi closed his eyes and sighed. "He never could bear to see her hurt and feel he couldn't do anything to protect her. This news must have broken him."

"Still – to take such a way out –," Karen said disapprovingly.

"Please, let's not judge him," said Satoshi. "May Oyashiro-sama look after his soul."

I couldn't take any more. I grabbed hold of Naoya's sweater and sobbed into it. For once, he didn't try to stop me.

"Akito-kun?" Miaka said gently. "You said 'who else'..."

"Yeah." He sighed. "I'll fill you in. This is crazy. Naoya-kun, can you take Saki somewhere else if she's going to blub like that? It's really getting on my nerves."

"_Akito!_" Miaka said severely.

"Sorry, I'm just so flustered. Miaka, you come with me..."

He led her out of the room, while Naoya took me over to the sofa and sat with his arm around me. I couldn't control myself any more. I _hated_ this – I wanted to be strong for Mother – but this was just too cruel. I could just see Irie-sensei, alone in his room, reaching for the bottle –

_Why?_ Why had he given up like that? I know that nothing would bring Mother back, but didn't he feel that he needed to stay around for Satoshi – and for me? It felt like I'd been betrayed. Betrayed by the one person I'd always thought of as reliable. I almost hated him.

At last I ran out of tears, and looked up to see Akito leading Miaka back into the room. I knew at once that he'd told her everything. She had a haunted look in her eyes that was becoming only too familiar.

She slumped down beside me on the sofa and stretched out a hand. "Saki-chan," she said. "I... I'm so sorry... I don't know what to say –"

I picked myself up. Somehow, seeing Miaka so close to bursting into tears reminded me of _why_ I needed to be strong. "Thanks," I said quietly. "Let's not talk about it, though. We have to look for Kotone and Kizuna."

"We'll start with Kotone's room," said Akito. "Dad, could you get one of the servants to make up a spare room for Miaka? She can't go back to the clinic tonight."

"I don't like to intrude..."

"Akito's right," said Naoya. "Normally I wouldn't say this, but – with so many murders already, we can't rule out the possibility that Irie-sensei was killed too. In which case, it wouldn't be safe for you to go back there."

"You don't think..."

"We've got to find Kotone," Akito said sharply.

We went upstairs. Kotone's room looked much the same as always: cosy, welcoming, and so neat that it was hard to believe someone actually lived there.

Her dolls'-house lay abandonded on the floor, and as I looked at it, a jolt ran through me. Mother and Azusa had made this together. They'd put so much love into it, making it a treasure that Kotone would love all her life – and Mother was gone and they would never make another toy together. How would Azusa ever manage on her own? And... and I'd left her alone, I'd run off with my friends and left her with Suguru, and what use was he? What kind of a daughter was I?

No – wait. Of course, we'd come to Sonozaki Manor to warn Mion and Shion about the Kanahebi. That had been quite driven out of my mind, what with the shock of arriving only to hear that they'd both disappeared. But surely, we still had to warn the rest of the family! More than ever now, without the twins, they had to unite against the threat as quickly as possible.

"Akito!" I called out.

He was examining Kotone's calligraphy desk. But there was nothing new there, no sign of why she'd disappeared or where she'd gone. He tutted and looked round the room in frustration, his hands swinging vigorously at his sides.

"What is it?" he snapped.

"We... we still need to warn the family... about the Kanahebi..."

"Can't you see, we've got no time?" he snarled. "We've got to find Mother and Aunt Mion. They'll know what to do. And we must find Kotone too. They're all together, I'm sure of it."

"But, Akito-kun...," Miaka said timidly.

He was more patient with her. "What is it?"

"Well... if Naoya-kun was right about the Kanahebi having killed Irie-sensei... that can only mean they're here in the village, _now_. We've got no time left. You've got to rally the family together, Akito-kun. The whole village could be in danger."

Akito stood, frozen, and stared at her.

"_Please_," she said. "I know I've only been here for two weeks, but I know some things about you. I know you have it in you to be a strong leader. If you" – she gulped – "if you call off the search for Kotone and get everyone together, we might still have a chance to resist the Kanahebi. It's what Kotone would want you to do. I'm sure of it."

"You – you don't understand!" Akito cried.

"Don't I?" said Miaka. "Have you forgotten the reason I came to Hinamizawa? I may not have a sister myself, but that doesn't mean I don't know what you're going through! So I think – I think you can grow up and start doing your job as leader of the Sonozaki family!"

Akito and Miaka stood glaring at each other.

"Please, Akito," I said, reaching out and grasping his hand. "We've got to warn the family. Otherwise... everything I went through... it will all be for nothing..."

Akito took a deep breath. He was trembling, and the ghosts of tears glistened in his eyes. "Fine," he said. "You're right, Miaka. We've got to get the family together. Come down, everyone."

We followed him back downstairs, sticking together in a tight huddle. When we reached the hall, Satoshi and Karen had returned, and were talking with Akane and Juntarou. And from the way Akane was trying not to cry, while Juntarou wobbled a little on his feet as he held her, it was clear that they knew now that their daughters and granddaughter were missing.

"I'm glad you're all here," said Akito. "What's the news?"

"Kasai will be here in a few minutes," said Satoshi. "He's rounding up as many of our men in Okinomiya as he can."

"Father and Toshio are on their way as well," said Karen.

"That's good," said Akito. "Um... I have something I have to say to everyone." He faltered and looked round helplessly. I suppose it was hard for him to get used to being in charge, when both his father and grandfather were present.

"What is it, kid?" said Juntarou. _Not helping._

"I'd rather wait until the others arrive."

And so we all stood round in a group and waited; no-one said anything for a long while. I felt ready to drop with exhaustion, but I _had_ to go on. I was an important witness now. Everything depended on me. And if Mother's spirit was watching somehow, she was depending on me too.

Kasai was the first to arrive, with Saburou and Toshio following close on his heels. I had thought my heart could sink no lower; but one look at that giant of a man, bent and bowed like a student on examination day, and it felt ready to plummet right through the floor and the secret tunnels below.

"Kasai-san," Akito said with a forced smile. "Thank you so much for coming."

Kasai sighed deeply. "I don't know if you'll thank me when you've heard my news," he said. "Satoshi-san, I would have told you on the phone just now, but – there are some things you just have to say in person." He closed his eyes and took a long breath. "Shion and Mion are dead."

"No!" Akane cried. She turned and nestled her head into Juntarou's shoulder as she burst into tears. He stood steady and held her tight.

"What about Kotone?" Akito burst out.

"Kotone?" said Kasai, confused. "What about her?"

"She's missing too," said Karen. "We thought she was with Mion and Shion."

"I haven't seen her."

"Oh, thank Oyashiro-sama...," Akito said faintly.

"How did they die?" said Karen.

"They were both lying dead on the pavement below my apartment," said Kasai. "They must have fallen from the balcony. There was nothing to show whether it was an accident, suicide or murder."

"And... no sign of Kotone? You're sure of that?" said Akane.

"None that I know of. I'm sorry... I didn't have time to ask the police many questions. I had to come back and break the news. Akane-san, I'm so sorry..."

"No-one blames you, Kasai," she said tenderly. "We just... this is such a shock. I don't understand how it can have happened."

"_I_ know," I said quietly.

No-one paid any attention. "We've got to find Kotone, and Furude Kizuna," said Karen. "What I can't work out is whether Mion took Kotone with her when she left the house, and why she would have done that. I know she wasn't with Shion."

"We must divide our efforts," said Kasai. "Have one party searching around Hinamizawa, and one in Okinomiya."

"Kasai-san!" Akito said peremptorily.

"Not now, kid," said Kasai. "We can't lose any time. I promise you, we'll do everything we can to return Kotone safe and sound before the night is over."

I looked helplessly up at Akito. "You promised," I whispered.

"Karen-chan, you have the best night vision, so can I entrust you with the woods?" Kasai continued.

"_Kasai!_" Akito called out. "Who's in charge here, you or me?"

"Akito!" said Juntarou. "That's no way to speak to your elders."

"_I'm trying to tell you all something!_"

His shriek was so loud that even Kasai was shocked into silence.

"What is it, Akito?" Akane said gently.

He put his hand on my shoulder. "You tell them, Saki."

I gulped as I looked up at the Sonozakis. They had formed a ring around us. Kasai was stern and forbidding; Akane just looked confused. Juntarou was still trying to show no emotion, while Satoshi was trembling so much that I felt the merest touch might knock him down.

But how could I explain? – Well, the most important thing was to get the message out; we could go into the details afterwards.

"Those men in the cellar," I said. "They said that the Kanahebi are going to attack the Sonozakis. That's what all of this is, I'm sure of it. Mother's death – Aunt Mion and Shion – it's all coming true!"

Kasai scowled with sudden anger, and I flinched back. Karen looked almost terrified.

"How can we be sure of this?" said Juntarou.

"We've got to believe Saki," said Akito. "_I_ believe her. And so many deaths – does anyone have a better explanation?"

No-one answered.

"Then it's decided," said Akito. "We must get ready to defend ourselves. Uncle Saburou, I appoint you my second-in-command."

Saburou nodded grimly. "I'll take charge at once," he said. "Toshio, Karen, go and warn the villagers. Anyone who wants is welcome to take shelter behind our walls – or to flee, if they choose to take the risk."

Toshio and Karen nodded, and ran out into the night.

"Dad?" said Akito, looking towards Satoshi. "I... I can't give you orders..."

"That's all right, son," said Satoshi. "I know my duty. I'm staying to protect my home to the end, so that when Kotone is found, she'll have a home to come back to."

"_Uncle Satoshi!_" I burst out, throwing my arms around him.

Akito gulped in his throat. "Good luck, then," he said. "I... damn it! Why does it have to end like this?"

It was a long time before anyone answered.

"I know it's hard," said Saburou, "but this is what we've been preparing for all these years. We knew the peaceful times wouldn't last forever. But we can put up a fight. We'll make sure the Kanahebi regret taking us on."

"Yes – but what use is that if we're all going to die?" Akito screeched.

"Akito!" said Akane.

"No, it's all right," said Saburou. "Akito – you have to understand this – we have a duty to protect the villagers. We all stand or fall together: that is the spirit of Hinamizawa."

"But... can't we just flee? Take everyone to safety?"

Saburou shook his head. "There are too many people, and not enough time. Besides, it is not the way of the Sonozakis to run like frightened rabbits. If we stand and fight, then – even if we die to the last man – we may hurt the Kanahebi enough that they think twice about attacking another village."

"But why are they doing this?" Akito cried. "They have Tokyo under their control already – what have they got to gain from attacking us?"

"Who knows?" said Akane. "Darling, we don't have time to argue. If there's going to be a battle, then we have to get ready, and you –"

Akito nodded. "I've got to take Saki and Miaka to safety," he said. "I know. Aunt Satoko entrusted Saki to my care. And as for Miaka, her parents placed her in the care of the clinic, and now that Irie-sensei's gone, she's my responsibility."

"I'll come with you," Naoya said at once.

"Where will you go?" said Akane.

"Through the woods to Yagouchi," said Akito. "We can phone Miaka's parents and get them to pick us up from there."

"All right. Take anything you need before you set off, and – good luck." She managed a faint smile, and then reached across and kissed Akito's forehead.

"I'll be all right," said Akito. "And I'll keep the girls safe, I promise. And we'll find Kotone and Kizuna."

"I hope you do. Hurry now!"

Akito nodded, and took one last look around at his family. He gulped as whatever it was he was trying to say died in his throat. He gazed at them with the deep sorrow of one who knows this is their final parting, and then grabbed my hand and ran madly out of the room.


	46. Part III Ch 11 Into the Woods

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**11  
>Into the Woods<strong>

So there we were, in the kitchen of Sonozaki Manor. Akito let go of me and ran off at once; Miaka got busy raiding the stores for provisions; Naoya sat me down and got me some water. That was kind of him. The world wasn't spinning around me quite so much.

I knew this room very well. Mother was the best cook in the village, and she wanted to make sure I grew up knowing my way around a kitchen, so we would often come here and cook together. No. She was dead now. We would never again stand over a mixing-bowl together, her hand guiding mine as we talked about toys and traps, while Aunt Mion looked on and smiled. Aunt Mion was gone now, too. They all were – everyone I'd looked up to and thought they would always be there to protect me. Now that they were gone, even the walls of Sonozaki Manor were no longer a refuge. We had to flee, get out of Hinamizawa completely, and look after ourselves. This kitchen – I'd probably never see it again. That was what the Sonozakis thought, wasn't it? At the mention of the Kanahebi, they'd given up hope. I had seen the look in Saburou's eyes: a look of defiance, the determination to fight to the end, but also resignation. As for Akane, she'd lost hope a long time before; but the news of her daughters' deaths had shattered what was left of her into fragments. Satoshi would do what he could, no matter whether there was hope or not. And Karen – she had a fire in her eyes, and I knew she wanted to take down as many as she could before they got her.

Naoya was in a seat next to me, crying. I'd been so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I hadn't noticed when he started. This must have been even harder for him. I'd already lost my parents, but he was leaving his behind. Knowing that he could have gone to them – but he had chosen to stay with us. His mother had been the village schoolteacher before Shion. With Shion dead, she would have to take responsibility for evacuating the children. We just had to hope they could get out before the Kanahebi descended. Meanwhile, the Sonozakis would gather the villagers and turn the Manor into a fortress, and hold out as long as they could. When the end came, there was still a slim chance they could escape through the tunnels. I squeezed Naoya's hand, trying to remind him that we weren't dead yet. He didn't look round, but he returned the squeeze.

"All right," Miaka said at last. "I'm ready." She placed two backpacks on the table. "We'll have to ration ourselves, but that should last us as far as Yagouchi. Um... are you two all right?"

"I'm fine," said Naoya. "As for Saki, I'll carry her if I have to."

"You won't have to," I said.

"Where's Akito got to?" said Miaka.

"Here," came a grunt from the door. Akito almost fell into the room, heaving what was evidently a very heavy bag.

Miaka raised her eyebrows. "What have you got there?"

"Oh, just a few things for the trip," said Akito. "Compass, maps, fire-starters..."

"How do _those_ weigh so much?"

"...and, of course, a few weapons."

"Weapons? Don't be crazy. We're not getting into a fight."

"It's still best that we take them," said Akito. "Just in case."

She glared at him. "Just in case of _what_?"

Akito turned to stare through the window. "Don't be mad at me, Miaka," he said. "But we have to be prepared for all eventualities. Just suppose we get to Yagouchi and there's a guard."

"Then we phone Mother and tell her to meet us a few miles up the road."

"And if the guard surprises us before we see him?"

Miaka gulped. Akito faced her, and clasped her hand in his. "I don't like it either," he said. "But I'm prepared to fight – even to kill – to protect you or Naoya or Saki."

"You mustn't," said Miaka. "Not for me, at least. I'm not worth it."

"How can you say that?" Akito returned. "What about your parents, waiting for you to come home? What about your friends in Kyoto? What would I say to all of them if I let you die?"

"That's..." Miaka sighed. "Anyway, we can't start an argument over this, not now. We have to get off as soon as possible."

"Then let's go," said Akito. "Saki, I'm sorry... I know you'd like to say goodbye to the Manor... and I would too. But we can't. There's nothing to say, anyway. The family all want us to get going and be safe. They know we'll do our best... that I'll do my best to protect you all. It doesn't need saying. Come on now."

_That's right... nothing needs to be said. We have to go._

There was an atmosphere of electric silence as we set out across the lawn. All the things we would have liked to say were left hanging in the air, rubbing against each other until sparks came off. We were encased in an aura of light coming from the Manor; ahead of us, the woods faded rapidly into black. The moon was snuggled up in a thick blanket of clouds. Akito and Naoya both had torches, but we could not use them, not yet, not when we were still so close to the village, with the Kanahebi about to arrive at any moment. So we had to stumble on as best we could, put some distance between us and the village. The Kanahebi couldn't follow us through the woods, but if we didn't get away from the village, they could always set the woods on fire.

Every now and then we paused for Akito to send a text to Akane, checking how things were going back at the Manor. Each time, we huddled around in restless silence, no-one daring to speak in case Akane's reply came through at just that moment.

Her replies were brief, but reassuring. The villagers had been warned and were gathering in the Manor; most were prepared to stay and help the Sonozakis fight. Naoya's parents had gone, escorting the village children to safety. There was no sign yet of the Kanahebi.

At last – I have no idea how far we had travelled – my legs finally gave way and I collapsed to the ground. I was torn and scratched – well, we all were. A thorny branch had scraped me just above the eye, a very narrow escape.

"Saki?" Akito said. "Are you all right?"

I panted heavily. "I can't go any further."

"That's all right," said Akito. "It must be well past midnight now... and I reckon we've got far enough away from the village. We'll stop here for the night."

Miaka sat down next to me with a heavy thump, and rooted around in her bag for the blankets. She had packed only two light blankets, so as not to add to much to her burden. Akito stood around a while, in the hope of receiving one last text message, then sighed and lay down next to Naoya.

"Just look at you two," Miaka chuckled as she laid one blanket over them. Then she gave the other one to me, and we snuggled down together. That was good. She was warm, comforting. I wasn't alone now. It was almost... no, I couldn't pretend it was like being at home with Mother. Still, if I closed my eyes and slipped my arm around her like so, then I could try to forget...

No. I couldn't keep that thought out of my mind; all I could do was keep talking, so that I didn't have to listen to it.

"Miaka?" I whispered.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever think about your mother?"

A sudden tightening of her touch. "All the time," she said. "You know that, surely. I hurt her so badly... and yet she still forgave me..."

"I didn't mean that," I said, almost silently. "I meant your real mother..."

"Saki-chan," Miaka whispered tenderly, "Mikoto is my real mother. And Shunsuke is my real father. What does it matter if she didn't give birth to me? The woman who did that abandoned me, or else died – I don't know. My real parents are the ones who took me in and cared for me."

There was a long silence.

"What's going to happen to me?" I said.

"You'll stay with us. Mother and Father will adopt you."

"Really? But, Miaka..."

"And you'll be my little sister, so you may as well get used to calling me Onee-chan."

I hugged her tight. I couldn't cry any more. But I could just rest my head against her breast and drift off towards sleep...

A sudden thought stung me, and I was wide awake again.

"Mi... I mean, Onee-chan... you haven't asked your parents about this."

"I don't need to," said Miaka. "I know them. We'd never leave you out in the cold, with no home and no family."

I think I may have squeezed out one last tear after all. "I'm going to have a family again."

"Yes." Miaka held me tight. "Don't get me wrong, Saki... I know you'll always miss your mother. But we'll all be there for you."

"Onee-chan..." I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Just rest for now, little sister," said Miaka. "Remember, this is what Satoko-san would have wanted... to know that you're safe, that we're here to look after you. I'm sure that right now, her spirit is looking down over us and smiling."

"Thank you, Onee-chan..." I felt as if a rope keeping me tethered had fallen away, and I dropped into the bed of soft grass that swayed under me as it carried me away to sleep.

* * *

><p>I was wakened by a blast of cold air driving the morning rain against my face. I groaned and tried to look up. My face stung all over, where twigs and the edges of leaves had lain against my skin.<p>

I was still in the forest. Nothing had changed. Mother hadn't come back to me. Aunt Shion and Aunt Mion were gone. And we were running from our lives, fleeing from the Kanahebi...

"Miaka?" I said quietly.

"Saki-chan? You're awake?"

"Yeah. Though I kind of wish I wasn't."

Miaka gently lifted the blanket, and reached down to grasp my hand. "I understand," she said. "I mean – of course, I can only imagine what you're going through right now –"

"Don't," I said.

"Huh?"

"Don't imagine it. I don't want to hurt you –"

"But, Saki, we don't want you to suffer alone."

I was a bit more focused now, as if the cold air was clearing my mind. Enough for me to try to put some of my feelings into faltering words, at least.

"But I _do_ have to suffer alone," I said. "It's not the same for anyone else. Even for Akito."

I sat up, swaying unsteadily, and leant back against a tree, looking around for Akito and Naoya. I spotted them some distance off, talking quietly together.

"What's happening?" I said. As soon as I asked, I knew I wouldn't like the answer. But I couldn't decide whether it would be worse not to know.

Miaka gulped and clasped her hands together. "I'm sorry, Saki-chan," she said. "There haven't been any messages from Akane-san since we went to sleep. Akito's been trying to get in touch with Satoshi, Saburou, Karen, any of them – but so far, there's nothing but silence."

I stared out into the forest, wondering for a moment whether the entire world in front of me was nothing but an enormous stage set.

"Are they... dead?"

"We don't know," said Miaka. "We're all trying not to think about that yet..."

"Like that's going to work," I said. "I'm sorry... I should be..."

My voice trailed off. I stared straight ahead. Why wasn't I more upset? If Akane and the Sonozakis really were dead, then that must mean the village had fallen and everyone had been massacred. Everyone I'd grown up knowing, except for the few friends who were with me now, was gone. Perhaps it was just too big a thing to take in all at once. I tried to narrow my focus. The other children at school – what had happened to them? Had Rumiko-san got them to safety? I thought of little Tomita Eiko in particular. Her father had once been in love with Mother. It's funny – if he had married her, Eiko would have been my little sister. No. That didn't make sense. If they'd married, Eiko wouldn't have existed at all – and neither would I. They'd have had some other child, and who knows what they would have called her? Perhaps that was why I didn't feel anything. It's only because of a colossal accident that any of us exist in the first place. And yet – there are some things one can't be philosophical about. We have to care for the people in our lives. We have to miss them when they go. Had my feelings just dried up inside me? Had I become some kind of monster? Everyone I knew had died, and I could do nothing but sit there, staring straight ahead, trying to work things out – until at last I became aware that Miaka was talking to me. She must have been trying to talk to me for a while, but I hadn't heard anything she said.

"Miaka?" I whispered. "What about Rumiko-san... you know, Naoya's mother?"

Miaka shook her head. "Naoya's tried to call her, but no response yet."

"But... if she's dead too... then all the children..."

"We can't assume that," Miaka said firmly. "Perhaps they're still in the tunnels, in which case they wouldn't get any signal." She sighed and put an arm around me. "We have to have hope, Saki-chan. We've got to go on – there's no point in worrying about the other children, because we can't do anything to help them now. We've just got to make sure that we stay safe, so that when it's all over, the others don't try to contact us and get no reply."

"I suppose we've got to," I said in a hollow voice. I didn't see much point, to be honest. But it was my duty as a member of the club to go with the others, and that thought gave me enough strength to get on my feet at least.

"Come on," said Miaka, so cheerfully that I knew at once it was fake. "Let's get breakfast ready."

Well, it was something to do, though it did not keep us busy for long. Breakfast consisted of a few scraps of meat, some bread that was starting to harden, and a swig of water. I was still thirsty afterwards, but we had not brought much water as it was so heavy, so it had to be rationed carefully.

"It's enough to keep us going," said Miaka. "Mother will treat us all to a feast when we get home."

And so we set off again through the forest. The two boys walked together in morose silence, so I hung back with Miaka again.

"Is your mother a good cook?" I asked her.

Miaka laughed. "She couldn't cook to save her life. Actually, she probably saves all our lives by not trying. Dad can cook a bit, but mostly we eat out."

"So how come you learned to cook so well?"

"I just didn't like being the only one in school who didn't have a home-made lunch, so... I learned, I guess."

"Yeah." I smiled. "That was how Mother learned, too. She was an orphan, you know."

"I know," said Miaka. "Naoya-kun told me, the day before the festival when he told me about all your families. But, Saki, if you'd rather not talk about her –"

"It's fine," I said. "I think... if I felt it was something I couldn't talk about, that would only make it worse."

Miaka nodded. "I think that's very wise."

Still, I hastily changed the subject. "Tell me more about your mother, Onee-chan," I said. "What's she like?"

"She's average height, slim, with kind of spiky black hair, and yellow eyes..."

"Yeah, but, you know, what's she _like_?" I persisted.

Miaka smiled. "She's really nice; you'll like her a lot. Just look at how kind she was to me after... you know, what I did to her."

"Well, she knew it wasn't your true feelings..."

"I don't know whether she did," said Miaka. "You never know another person as well as you think you do, I guess. And finding out that I was adopted was a big shock. It wouldn't have been surprising if I had reacted to it... like that..." She shuddered.

I slipped my hand into hers. "But you and she must have been through so much together."

"Yeah. But most girls my age take that for granted and don't think about it. Hell, the only reason I know what a blessing my mother is is that she was so nearly taken away from me..."

I squeezed her hand tighter. "I understand."

"I'm sorry, Saki-chan," she said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't," I said. "I don't know why you keep talking like I'm some kind of fragile vase, about to break at any moment..."

"I think you're a very strong person," said Miaka. "But I think what you've been through would break just about anyone."

"Yeah." I let go and stared into the distance for a moment. She didn't know the half of it.

"I won't break as long as I've got you, Onee-chan," I said.

"I'm glad."

We walked on in silence for a while. Then there was a beep from her pocket.

"Excuse me," she said as she took out her phone. "Well, well. Speak of the devil."

"It's from your mother?"

She nodded. "She's in Yagouchi, waiting for us."

"_Already?_"

"Yeah. I didn't know what time we'd get there, so I just said some time today."

"So she might be waiting there all day!"

"It's all right," said Miaka. "Just so long as we all get to safety, that's all that matters. She's done a lot more for me than just wait in a car for a few hours."

"Still, I don't like keeping her waiting," I said. "Let's catch up with the others."

We quickened our pace until we were close enough for me to call out.

"Hey, Akito!"

He stopped and looked round. Miaka took the opportunity to send a reply to her mother.

"What is it, Saki-chan?"

"How much longer till we get there?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "A couple of hours, maybe."

"Well, Mikoto-san's there waiting for us. We've got to press on."

I don't know where the energy came from, but suddenly I was almost running forwards, with Akito and Naoya on either side of me. Miaka finished her text and then came running after us, and the trees flew away behind us as we ran over the last miles to Yagouchi.


	47. Part III Ch 12 A Rendezvous with Death

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**12  
>A Rendezvous with Death<br>**

About an hour later, I found myself starting to sag. I must have been much wearier than I'd realised. I let go of Akito and Naoya's hands and wilted, taking deep breaths.

"Come on, Saki," said Naoya. "It can't be much further now."

"I know," I said. "I just... feel so tired... it's like I didn't sleep at all."

"That's understandable," said Miaka. "Naoya-kun, I think you could show a bit more sympathy."

Naoya sighed. "Sorry. I'm just a bit on edge... having to go so far and still not _knowing_."

"I know," said Miaka. "I'm sure your mother will be safe."

"I'm not," said Naoya. "Sorry if that sounds cold, but we have to face facts. They should have reached safety by now, unless something went wrong. Sure, they might have been held up... but every moment that passes makes that more unlikely."

"I know it's hard, but we can't stop to think about it," said Akito. "Saki, would some chocolate help?"

"Yeah... I think it might."

We stopped while Akito shared out a bar of chocolate, and then it was time to move on again. The sun was taking its time to struggle out of bed, and its light was faint and fitul, abruptly cutting out whenever a cloud drifted in front of it. Naoya was right. It was infuriating, being cut off like this and not knowing what was going on back at home or anywhere else.

"Akito-kun," I said, "what time is it?"

"Half past ten."

"What!" I cried. Then – the faintness of the light wasn't due to the hour. The clouds must have been darker than I thought. A real storm must be brewing.

"Indeed," said Miaka. "Can't you feel it in the air?"

I stopped and listened. The forest was unnaturally silent, and the air was heavy with tension. How had I failed to notice? I had been so wrapped up in myself...

"We'd better press on," said Miaka. "I don't like to think of Mother sitting there waiting for us, and the heavens suddenly opening on her. We'll have to drive home through the rain in any case, but at least that's better than being caught out in it."

We all saw the sense of this, and hurried on – in silence, so as to conserve our strength.

At last we came to a ridge that sloped up ahead of us, and Akito skidded to a halt and took a deep breath, his head lolling wearily.

"This is it," he said. "Yagouchi is just on the other side of this ridge. Miaka-chan, tell your mother we'll be there in ten minutes."

We paused for breath while Miaka sent the message, and then set off up the ridge at a more sedate pace.

"Everyone, keep silent," Akito whispered.

"Why?" said Naoya.

"Just in case. I know we're a long way from Hinamizawa now, and there's no reason why the Kanahebi would be interested in an abandoned village, but we should be careful all the same."

"Do you really think that's necessary?" said Miaka.

"I just don't want to take any chances. We've each only got one life, and I promised Aunt Satoko I'd take care of Saki."

"I'd be more worried about the ghosts," said Naoya.

"Ghosts?" said Miaka. We were close to the top of the ridge by now.

"This village has an evil reputation. It's been abandoned since before we were born, and no-one's really sure why."

"There was a quarry just on the other side of the ridge," said Akito. "It was abandoned quite suddenly, and all the old machinery was left there to rust. You can imagine, the children from Hinamizawa and the other neighbouring villages loved to come and play here – it was like a giant adventure playground. Then there was an accident – I think a child died – and everyone was strictly forbidden from going near the quarry." He glanced at me. "I don't think there are any ghosts to worry about. The stories were just a way of keeping the children away from here."

Miaka laughed. "That wouldn't have worked with me," she said. "It would just have made me even more curious to find out the truth!" She looked at the boys, as if wondering why they weren't laughing with her. "Come on, haven't you ever been curious about it?"

"There are some things that are taboo for a reason," said Naoya. "That's what Rika-sama always used to say. She said that the workers in the quarry disturbed something that was not meant to be disturbed, and opened up a pit that leads straight down to Hell."

"Sounds just like the dwarves of Moria," said Miaka. "Honestly, are _all_ of the legends around this village put together from scraps of old stories?"

"Well, we shall soon find out," said Akito. "But please, Miaka, let's just meet up with your mother and then get out of here. I know you'd love to explore the quarry, but... I have to think of my promise to Aunt Satoko."

"I know." Miaka reached down to grasp his hand. "I really admire you for it, Akito-kun. Besides," she added hastily, "it's about to rain, and I'd rather not get caught in it."

Akito nodded, and took the lead as we scrambled up to the top of the ridge. The slope was severe, and for a long time we were too tired to speak. Then, at last, we made the summit, and looked over the ridge and down the path as it careered towards the abandoned quarry.

It was a dismal sight. A dark mist rose up from the valley, as if the fumes of Hell really were wafting up from a pit hidden amongst the rocks. A few wooden houses still stood lining the road, all overgrown with weeds and ivy threading through them, so that a tug might have torn them apart. The roofs had not lasted the years; most had gaping holes, and some were missing entirely. Beyond the houses were the remains of a few cars, rusted until their frames collapsed in on themselves; and then the derricks, cranes and girders where the workings of the quarry began. These looked more solid from a distance, black shadows stretching up into the sky; but I knew that if we went closer, they would turn into skeletons, so worn and rusted that a touch might bring them down.

Akito stopped for another deep breath. "Made it at last," he said.

"We can't stop here," Naoya pointed out.

"Just... a short break..."

I laughed. "Akito-kun, who would have thought you were so unfit?"

"That's enough," he said. "Let's go down. And please, let's all stick together."

We descended into the valley in a tight huddle. It was a way of letting the ghosts know that we would not touch anything, that we meant no disrespect, that we would just pass through and be on our way and leave them in peace. The first houses stood on either side of us, and the air seemed to grow colder as we stepped into their shadow.

"What colour is your mother's car?" Naoya asked Miaka.

"Blue."

"There it is! I see it!" I cried out.

The mood of gloom passed away at once, and in spite of our weariness, all four of us ran forward. But Miaka ran so far ahead that we might not have been moving – she was on her school's track team, I remembered. "Mother!" she called out.

Then she reached the car and cried out the same word again – but now in a tone of horrible anguish that stopped all of us in our tracks. "_Mother!_"

She knelt down, and we all hurried forward to see what she was looking at. A black-haired woman lay slumped against the side of the car, her body and the vehicle splattered with red like one of Kotone's paintings. I couldn't see the wound at first, but even so, I knew she was dead. Miaka clutched the dead woman's hand, and howled.

Then the air burst apart with a colossal explosion. I couldn't see where it had come from; I only saw Miaka slump forward as blood spouted from the back of her head; and Teramachi Mikoto and her daughter were together again.

* * *

><p>"Drink this," said Naoya.<p>

I couldn't see anything. I just felt something press against my lip, and then the icy touch of water being poured down my throat. I gulped it down, and then tried to look up at the world. It was still all a blur; patches of colour swirled and collided with each other in an eruption of light.

"Where are we?"

"Still in Yagouchi," he said. "We ran into one of the abandoned houses as soon as... as the gunshots started..."

His voice trembled. Naoya had always been afraid of guns. So, we were in an abandoned house. That explained why it was so dark, and why the air was so musty. That was right – there had been gunshots, hadn't there? They had shot Miaka...

"_Sssh!_" Naoya hissed, shoving a hand over my mouth. Startled, I bit into him before I realised what I was doing.

"Ouch!" he cried. "I'm sorry, Saki, but we must be quiet. They... they're still out there."

"Miaka?" She was all I could think about, for some reason. Where was she? She and Akito must be outside looking for us. Why were we hiding in the same place? That wasn't good strategy!

Naoya sighed. "No, it's the Kanahebi, or at least I assume so. Hell alone knows how they managed to find us here."

The Kanahebi. That was right. _Focus!_ We were fleeing from the Kanahebi. Wait – did Naoya mean they were outside, _right now_? We couldn't say here! Instinctively, I leapt to my feet.

"Where are you going?" Naoya said in a loud whisper. "Stay down!"

He grabbed me and pulled me down, and I landed on top of him with a thud. I heard footsteps approaching.

"Are you two all right?" said Akito. "Sorry – I know, stupid question."

"Saki won't sit still," said Naoya. "I don't think she's managed to process what happened."

"Poor kid," said Akito. "Still, we've got to move."

I rounded on him. "That's just what I was –"

"Quiet, Saki," he said. His face was expressionless, his voice cold and heavy. "This isn't a game. We're all in danger of our lives. Do you understand?"

I stared at him.

"She really doesn't know what's going on," said Naoya. "Don't be hard on her."

"I'm not. But we have to move silently. If Saki cries out and gives us away –"

"She won't. She's a natural at stealth games. You know that."

"All right." Akito placed both hands on my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes. "Saki, do you understand this? We... we're playing a game, and we've got to get to safety without being spotted. Follow me."

He led us down a passage to what I assumed was the back door of the house. So much dust. Why had we come here in the first place? We would be leaving footprints everywhere. Let's see. Me, Akito and Naoya. That meant the other team had to be Miaka, Kotone and Kizuna. Those three on the same team? We didn't stand a chance.

"Akito?" I said. "Let's give up. I feel weak. I... I need some food."

"_We can't give up!_" he hissed. "Think about the punishment game!"

I wobbled, and Naoya caught me in his arms. "Hold steady," he said. "We'll have a feast together when we've won, I promise."

Akito was peering through the door, glancing up and down the street beyond. "No-one about," he said. "Come on!"

He shoved the door open and darted to the door of the house opposite, and Naoya and I ran after him. For a few moments, the air was heavy with banging and crashing; then Naoya edged the door shut and the sounds faded away again.

"Naoya? What's going on?" I said. Kotone couldn't be making that kind of racket.

"They're hunting us down," said Akito. "They'll tear the village apart to find us, if they have to. We've got to get out of here."

"Where can we go?" said Naoya.

"Anywhere that's not here! Now hush, both of you."

He led us carefully through the empty house. I was horribly reminded of the empty house back in Hinamizawa: the creak of rotten floorboards made me flinch, as if the tiniest sound might bring those men jumping down on us.

_Those men. That's right... they're here too, aren't they?_

I stopped and shuddered as too much came back. This wasn't a game. We were hiding for our lives. Those men had killed Miaka...

I nearly screamed, but I managed to hold it back. Instead I grabbed Naoya, threw my head against his chest, and whimpered.

"Saki!" he sobbed as he rubbed my hair. "I know... I know it hurts..."

"Keep it down, you two," said Akito. He was standing by the window, trying to wipe enough of it clear to look out. "No good. There's one of those gunmen patrolling just outside, and another one waiting at the corner."

"You mean we're trapped?" said Naoya.

"Unless you happen to know of a way we can get out of here," Akito snapped. "Well, at least we can stay here for a little while. We'll have to hope they get tired of searching for us and move on."

"Akito...," I mumbled.

"What is it?"

"Miaka... she's dead, isn't she?"

I didn't want to know. But I had to find out.

Akito nodded. "I'm sorry, kid," he said. "Believe me, there's nothing I'd like better than to leap on those bastards and smash their brains out. But we can't. We've got to keep you safe. You're all I've got left now."

"What do you mean?" I said. "There's you and Naoya –"

Akito sighed. "I mean, you're the last one left of the people I'm supposed to be protecting. I've failed everyone else. I can't lose you as well."

I said nothing. I just couldn't understand any of it any more – how we had got here, why those men were hunting us, why Miaka was dead. I just wanted to stay still until someone told me what to do. Or, better still, lie down in bed and close my eyes – but there was no chance of that here. The villagers of Yagouchi hadn't died here – they'd just packed up and left, taking all their possessions and creature comforts with them, and now there was nothing left behind except the skeletons of their houses, protection from rain and rogue gunmen, but nothing that could be called a home.

Akito, tiring of keeping watch, came over and huddled with us. Then we heard voices from the street outside.

"They're not in that house. Let's try this one."

"Get ready to move," Akito whispered.

"Where?" said Naoya.

"If they're going to try all the houses, we've got to get somewhere else. Somewhere where we can really _hide_."

"You mean – in the quarry?"

"Of course. They can't possibly search every crevice in the rocks. Besides, I'm a Sonozaki. I've grown up knowing my way around tunnels."

"All right," Naoya said with a deep breath. "When do we move?"

"Soon. Just give them time to get inside whichever house they're searching next. Then we run. Saki, are you ready for this?"

"I... I think so," I said. I had to do this for Miaka! I'd be letting down the team if I let myself get captured now!

"All right. To the back door, then."

We hovered close by the back door, and Akito looked through the window again. There was no-one in sight.

"On the count of three," he whispered. "One, two, three, _now!_"

And he threw the door open and we ran madly down the street.

There was no doubt about which direction led to the quarry: the cranes and mechanical shovels hovered over it like giant signposts. As we came past the last houses, we saw ahead of us a deep depression in the ground, a circular pit about two hundred metres wide. For a few moments we had no cover, but soon enough we were over the rim and would be hidden from sight, until they thought of searching the pit. We had to get ourselves hidden before then!

Akito stood in front, his eyes searching rapidly from side to side. I followed, and saw that he was looking at the black cracks that ran along the bottom of the quarry. Was one of these the legendary pit that led right down to Hell?

"Over there," he said, pointing. There was no time to argue; we just had to trust his judgement. We held hands and ran forward together. The ground sloped down, and there was a hole in the slope about five metres across and three metres deep. We could scramble down into there and conceal ourselves behind the jagged rockface.

Naoya jumped down first, and I knelt on the edge of the pit and let him help me down. Akito remained above until the last moment, scanning the sky behind us to see whether we had been spotted. But it seemed that all was well, and once we had both got well inside, Akito scrambled down to join us. We were safe for now. But we were still trapped, with no idea of how we were ever going to get out of this village.


	48. Part III Ch 13 The Gates of Hell

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**13  
>The Gates of Hell<br>**

It was impossible to relax. The day was hot and humid, and a smell of rotten eggs permeated the air. A rumble of thunder overhead warned us that the threatened storm might break at any moment. I tried to stand still, but I couldn't, no matter how much Akito glared at me. This was horrible. We had chosen to hide, and now we just had to wait and hope the men got tired of their search. If they found us, it would be all over. Akito no longer had his bag; it must have fallen somewhere as we fled from one house to another. We had no weapons. And they would not hesitate to shoot us. They had killed Miaka... they really had, hadn't they? It was unthinkable; and yet, one glance at the way Akito was biting his lip with barely concealed anguish, I couldn't doubt it. Even the imperturbable Naoya, for once, seemed perturbed.

"Please keep still, Saki," he whispered. "We've got to hold on. For Miaka's sake."

I don't know how much time passed. I was weary from standing so long. I wanted to urinate. My shoulders itched. I flexed them a little, to try to relieve the weariness. It didn't work. Now it was my legs that itched. I wanted to take my skirt off and have a good scratch, but I didn't know what Akito would say, and his stern frown forbade me from asking. Damn it, don't I get _any_ latitude in life-or-death situations?

Then voices in the air.

"They must be somewhere around here! They've just hidden in a crack or something."

"Well, how do you suppose we go about finding them?"

"You'll just have to look harder. Anzuhara won't be pleased if we come back empty-handed."

Too close. I caught my breath and pressed myself back against the rockface. There was a thud as a loose stone fell away and bounced on the ground. Akito span round and glared at me with a fire that could have roasted chestnuts.

"What was that sound?"

"There's someone over there."

Footsteps came towards us, and then stopped. I pressed myself tightly against the rock, hoping desperately that I might be able to stay hidden even if they did look our way. Some hope.

Then a gunshot boomed across the silence, so loudly that the air seemed to split apart. Naoya trembled and whimpered. He was terrified of guns.

"You hear that?" called out one man, who seemed to be the leader. "That's what's in store for you when we find you. And don't think it will be quick and painless. We'll shoot your legs off and leave you to die. Unless you be nice children and give yourselves up."

As if to give a final emphasis to his words, there was another crack of thunder above us.

Akito took advantage of the thunder to whisper, "I'm going out."

"No!" Naoya hissed at him. "Akito-kun, you can't."

"I have to. Listen, they don't know there are three of us. I bet it's only me they're after – because I'm the heir of the Sonozakis. They won't care about whether you got away or not. I'll give myself up, and then when they've gone, you get Saki out of here."

"Akito, _don't_!" I clutched onto his arm. "This is my fault. I'm the one who should be sacrificed."

"Not at all," Akito said, gently stroking my hair. "You made some mistakes, yes, but you're a little kid. No-one blames you."

Outside, the men were blustering about, their heavy feet thumping over the rocks as they narrowed their search. "Nothing in this one, boss," I heard one of them call out.

"We don't have much time to decide," said Akito. "Sorry, Saki-chan, but this is my duty as the family leader. Naoya-kun, hold her back. Gag her if you have to."

"Goodbye, old friend," Naoya said. He grabbed hold of me. He was shaking so much, _I_ had to hold _him_ steady.

And Akito clambered out of the crevice.

I huddled still. This was all wrong, and yet – I couldn't make myself move, couldn't run out and haul him back. I was too small, too frightened. I knew I would only make things worse, as I always did – it was too late now, anyway. He was outside. If I ran after him, the only thing that would happen was that we would all be killed. I could have done something, if I'd acted sooner, if I weren't such a coward. Miaka was already dead because of me, and Akito would be soon, and Naoya – he had turned away and buried his head in the rockface. He couldn't watch.

"Naoya-kun!" I hissed. "You stay here, all right?"

He still didn't look round. "What are you doing, Saki?"

"I'm going to save Akito."

"_No!_" He still didn't look round. His hand lunged out and made a pathetic attempt at grabbing hold of my wrist. "He told you to stay right here!"

"Well, he's gone now, so that means _I_ am the heir of the Sonozakis, so I have the right to decide!"

He forced himself to look up, and tried to glare at me. His eyes were too wet for any fire to come out of them.

"Saki –"

"No, shut up," I said. "There's no time to argue. You stay here. You're no good at stealth, and right now you're falling apart and no use to anyone."

He slithered to the floor in a huddle. But I had no time to spare much thought for him. I was already half out of the crevice, keeping myself flat against the ground.

"Saki! Don't leave me! Saki... I love you!" Naoya called after me. _Idiot_. Did he really think I would fall for something as obvious as that?

Once I was fully out of the crevice, I tilted my head up just enough to keep Akito and the men in sight. There were three of them, though I knew I had to be careful in case there were more back at the village. They were in no hurry, at least. They were questioning Akito; they knew who he was, right enough, so perhaps Akito had been right to think that they were after him.

"Where's your sister?" the leader said. "She _must_ be with you."

My heart leapt. So Kotone was alive after all!

"She isn't, I keep telling you," Akito growled. His tone was resigned; there was no hint of panic. "I had to run from the village when your men came. There wasn't _time_ to look for Kotone or anyone else."

"Liar," the man spat. "You know how we treat liars?"

But I couldn't hang around to listen. I had to think up some trap. Not easy, in this open space. But I am the daughter of Fujiura Satoko, the greatest trapmaster the world has ever known. My mother's spirit was looking down on me and watching me. I _had_ to make her proud!

So, let's see. First step, look at what materials I _do_ have to work with, instead of whining about what I haven't. A drop of rain glinted against my cheek. That's right – a storm is coming on. That's one. The huge cranes stood towering over the quarry, as if watching the drama that was playing out below them. That's two. The enemy don't know how many of us there are, or whether we have weapons. They suspect that Akito is lying about being the only one left, but they're being distracted by the red herring of Kotone. That's three. Well, it may not sound like much, but each of those could be an advantage, if only I knew how to use them. There had to be _something_ I could do with all this.

I squirmed along the ground towards the nearest crane. I could do this. It was just like being back at school and playing Capture the Flag... Miaka had been on the Kyoto prefectural team, I remembered. Damn, why was I still thinking about her? I had to concentrate on the task in hand. Miaka was dead and there was no going back on that. I just hoped that she was watching too.

One door of the crane had fallen off, so I clambered inside. I looked helplessly over the controls. Which of these _started_ the damn thing? Mind you, I had no idea how to drive a car, let alone this monstrosity; but I figured it might give the enemy a nasty surprise if it suddenly spurted into life and came trundling down the slope towards them. But nothing I touched seemed to do anything, so I gave up that idea.

I slipped out of the cabin and hauled myself onto its roof, and gazed up at the arm of the crane as it stretched up into the black sky. It was pointing directly towards a mass of scaffolding at the edge of the quarry. Hadn't I seen it from a distance, when we first arrived in Yagouchi, and thought that a touch might bring the whole thing crashing down? But how to get the men standing directly under it – that was the puzzle.

I reached out and touched the arm. Perhaps it wasn't as flimsy as it looked; perhaps it would even bear my weight. I gripped it and swayed, and then took the plunge and swung myself along it. The metal gave a creak of protest, but it held.

I needed a wire. Well, I would find that in the engine. But I had to be quick now; they might get tired of torturing Akito at any moment, especially with the storm about to break. I jumped back down and got busy, hauling out wires and twisting them together. Then I squirmed back up the arm of the crane as quickly as I could. I was a long way above the ground now, but I didn't mind that. After the crazy games we had played in the club, I had no fear of heights. I hauled up the hook of the crane, detached it from the rod holding it, and fixed it to the end of the wire. Then I stood up, slowly, inch by inch, pausing to make sure the crane was still taking my weight. If the men should happen to look up now, I was in plain sight!

I had no idea for what purpose the scaffolding had been put there. It didn't matter. For now, it was here to serve _my_ purpose. I threw the hook across the gap, and there was a rattle and clank as it slipped between the rods and caught fast. Down below, the men started at the sudden noise. One of them swivelled round and stared at the scaffolding for some minutes, trying to spot the source of the sound – but he must eventually have dismissed it as nothing, just part of the background noise in a place like this. Akito tensed, and I felt that _he_ knew what the noise was; but he didn't look round, didn't want to give me away.

Now then. I wasn't really daft enough to try to cross the gap on that wire. That kind of thing only works in superhero manga. Even Karen couldn't have done it. But it wouldn't be too hard to get those unimaginative men to jump to conclusions – and I had noticed a bird's nest high in the scaffolding that could, in the darkness and at that distance, be mistaken for a small person climbing it. I secured the other end of the wire to the crane, and slipped back down.

The men seemed to be running out of patience, and I knew I had to act fast. A flash of lightning split apart the sky, almost directly overhead. Perfect timing.

"Here I am!" I screamed. The three men looked round and raised their guns. "It's me you want, isn't it? Come and get me!"

And I ran towards the scaffolding. Before the guns could fire, I had disappeared.

"Did we get her?"

"How would I know? Takeshi, you go and make sure she's dead."

In my hiding-place among the stones, I grinned. This was even better than my plan. Now there was just one enemy to contend with.

Takeshi came towards me until he stood where I had last been seen, right under the scaffolding. His eyes skimmed the ground, but it was easy enough to see that there was no body there. He looked out across the quarry, but the overhead clouds were as black as night, and it was impossible to see anything. Then he looked up.

I picked up a little stone and sent it whizzing upwards; it struck the scaffolding with a heavy clink. Takeshi strained his eyes upwards. "There she is!" he cried. "I see her!"

There was a rattle of gunfire.

"Is it the Sonozaki girl?" one of the men called out.

"I don't know who she is, but she's not getting away," Takeshi grunted.

_If only you knew that I'm right behind you..._ I threw up another stone. It plinked against the metal, slightly higher than the first. Takeshi fired out again – but when there was no sign of a body dropping, he gripped onto the structure and started to haul himself up.

I waited until he was high above me before I dared to move. The other two men stood frozen, waiting to see whether it was Kotone they had caught. I had a little more time.

I still had a good length of wire. I flexed it between my fingers. It was good and strong – stronger than that rotten lump of metal, at any rate. At least, I would have to hope so.

I tied one end to one leg of the scaffolding, and sniffed around. The sulphurous smell was coming from over towards the middle of the quarry. I ran over towards it.

The ground dipped sharply, and at the bottom of the dip was a pitch-black crack. No doubt about it, the smell was coming from here, rising into the sky in swirls of vapour. So it was true after all? A pit that led straight down to Hell? It had to be.

I wrapped the wire around a large boulder, and tied it together, gripping my teeth and exerting all my strength to make the knot as strong as I could. Then I set my hands against the boulder, and tried to push. No good – it wouldn't move an inch. But I could do this – I had to!

_I am the daughter of Fujiura Satoko._ My mother was renowned for her superhuman strength. I had to make her proud of me. I set both hands against the boulder, drew back, and then shoved all my weight against it in one almighty heave. The boulder lifted – tipped – and then rolled over, and all of a sudden it was rolling down the slope, carried by its own momentum, rushing headlong to its destiny, towards the ultimate destination of all things.

There was a massive thud as the boulder knocked on Hell's door – and the crack opened to let it in. And, as it vanished, the wire went taut, there was a heavy scrape like an executioner sharpening his sword, the leg of the scaffolding snapped – and the whole structure shuddered in the air for a moment, and then toppled. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and I saw for a moment a web of glistening strands fluttering down, and then rods and girders and rails came crashing to the ground with a tremendous clatter.

_I had done it!_

I had defeated the villain who'd been trying to kill me.

I had killed a man. Well, what of it? I'd _had_ to. If I'd stopped to think about that, I'd never be able to save Naoya and Akito. There were still two of the enemy left.

I raced towards the ruins of the tower. Takeshi's body would be somewhere. I could pick up his gun now. And maybe, if they knew I had a gun, I could frighten away the other two –

"What's that?" one of them called out. Oh, he sounded frightened enough now.

"Keep calm," said the leader. "Whoever it was up there, they're dead now."

"I'm sure I heard something –"

"Anyway, we got the main prize." He gestured towards Akito. "Let's just kill him and then get out of here."

I ran towards them. There was no time to search for Takeshi's gun now. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I _had_ to save Akito! I was on fire now. I had already killed one of them.

At almost the same moment, a shadow appeared beyond the two men. There was a cry and thud – and Naoya was in the middle of them, throwing punches.

The leader grabbed hold of Naoya's wrists and pushed him down. The other man had turned his gun towards Akito, but then he saw me come charging towards him, and he swivelled round and fired. I ducked just in time.

Akito leapt to his feet in an instant, and his head rammed into the man's shoulder. He reeled, and the gun slipped from his grasp, and I leapt forward to catch it.

The leader had his foot on Naoya's chest. I knew what was about to happen. He didn't care about Naoya, but he wasn't about to let his prize get away like this. He would shoot Naoya, just so there was one less problem to deal with, and that would be that.

The only way to stop him was to get my shot in first.

So I did.


	49. Part III Ch 14 Ame, Muon, Madobe Nite

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**14  
>Ame, Muon, Madobe Nite<strong>

I was standing in the quarry of Yagouchi. My dress was spattered with blood. Well, it didn't matter; the rain would soon wash it out. It was falling heavily now. Akito and Naoya were some distance off, hugging each other in sheer relief that we were all still alive. I'd done it. I'd saved them both from the Kanahebi. I'd had to kill two of the enemy, and the third man had scurried off into the darkness. He was no threat to us any more, I felt sure of that. It was such a shock to him to see the situation turn around like that, he'd run away in sheer terror. I'd still had the gun in my hand, but there was just no way I could have shot after him. I was shaking too much, for a start. Then I felt Akito's touch on my shoulder, holding me steady; he took the gun off me and showed me how to put the safety catch on. Trust Akito to know how to handle a gun. Naoya just stood watching us, petrified, as though he was scared it might jump out and bite him at any moment.

"I wish you'd put that away," he said at last.

"Put it away!" Akito exclaimed. "I'm not going back into the village without a weapon. We don't know how many more of them there are. And that one will have warned the others."

"Back... into the village?" I mumbled. For a moment, I was thinking of home, and sitting by the fireside with Emi. But of course, he meant Yagouchi village.

"Of course. We'll take Mikoto-san's car and get the hell out of here."

I blinked. "You can _drive a car_?"

"Yeah. Mother made sure I learned... just in case." He drew a deep breath and wiped a hand across his face. "Yeah, I know. This isn't the time to be thinking about her. The main thing is that we're all still here." He looked round – and, just for a moment, his careworn features softened into a smile that I hadn't seen since we left Hinamizawa. "Thank you, Saki," he said. "You did well. Satoko would be proud of you."

I think I cried, just a little. Well, you would too.

We set off back towards the village, keeping in a tight huddle, all the time uncomfortably aware of the gun swinging at Akito's side. We knew what it meant. We were in a war now; we had to be prepared to fight at any moment. We had to be ready to kill, if we had to. And yet – I knew I could do that, now. Perhaps the old me really had been beaten away, that night in the cellar, each thud of Chiharu's bat knocking a little more of the shape out of her skull. Whatever. I didn't miss her now. She'd been a whiny little brat, and I could see why Akito got so sick of her. I would be a new person now. I would be someone he would risk his life to protect, not just out of a sense of family duty, but from a feeling of real friendship. We were a team.

It was pouring with rain now, but we didn't care. It was cool and refreshing, washing away the smell of sulphur and the dust in our mouths. And besides, perhaps the rain would make the enemy decide enough was enough and get out of here...

We looked down into what could be called the main street, if that had any meaning in a ruin like this. A ghastly silhouette on the ground, framed by an aureole of red hair, showed where Miaka had fallen. She lay still where we had left her, but –

"They've taken the car," Akito said heavily. "And Mikoto-san's body. What on earth did they want with that?"

"Who knows?" said Naoya. "Maybe they keep all the spare bodies they can lay hands on, just in case one of them needs to fake their own death, like Takano."

"Well, whatever the reason, it shows that they've gone," said Akito. "We'd better stop here until the storm passes. Naoya-kun, take Saki to one of the houses."

"But what about you?" I said.

Akito stood still for a moment, staring ahead as though watching a mighty wave coming towards him.

"I'm going to dig a grave," he said.

"No," Naoya said firmly. "Come and shelter with us."

"It's all I can do for her."

"At least wait until the storm passes."

"We have to be ready to move as soon as the storm's over. I'm not letting Saki stay in this godforsaken place a moment longer than necessary."

"Then we'll do it together."

Akito sighed. "Just take Saki inside and stay with her. We can't be absolutely sure there are no more of these gangsters around. That's an order."

"Very well, boss," Naoya said icily. I could tell that he was thinking the same thing I was – that if there _were_ any more of the Kanahebi around, I would be better at defending him than the other way aroud. But there was no arguing with Akito once he got into a mood like this. So we slipped inside the nearest house, and huddled together in what was left of the sitting-room.

As soon as we were sitting still, my discomfort started to grow. I was soaked through and shivering, but there was nothing to dry myself with. Our supplies – where _were_ they, in fact? I tried to think. Oh, of course – most of the food had been in Miaka's bag. We'd had to leave it behind when we fled from the scene, and now the Kanahebi would have taken it. Naoya no longer had his bag, and I didn't bother to ask him why, or if he knew where it was. There was no chance of going back to look for it now, and making him feel guilty about losing it wouldn't help anyone.

I looked across at Naoya. He lay slumped against the wall, crying; I reached across and put an arm around him. He pulled me close so that my head was resting on his shoulder, and we stayed like that for a long time. I had to help him be strong. We had lost so much already; we couldn't afford to lose each other as well.

Outside, the storm raged on.

* * *

><p>It was a long time before Akito came back, and I think I might have fallen asleep. My joints ached. My right arm felt like it was about to fall off. And outside, the rumble of thunder and the soft, steady drumming of the rain were as persistent as ever. The ceiling leaked in several places, and puddles were spreading under our feet. Every now and then, a loud crash told us that another tile had fallen loose, or another plank come down. The house was crumbling to pieces around us.<p>

Then came the sound of footsteps. At once, I was back in the empty house in Hinamizawa, cowering and waiting. I jumped up. No, it was only Akito, hunched under the sheer weight of the rainwater hanging off him like flowers. He almost fell into the room, and slumped against the door-frame; the storm had beaten all the strength out of him.

"It's ready," he said.

Naoya just looked at him blankly. "For what?"

"Don't you two want to" – his voice caught – "pay your last respects?"

There was a brief silence.

"Yeah, let's go," Naoya said heavily. "Come on, Saki. I'll lend you my coat."

"No, you mustn't," I said. "Just... just hold me close, and I'll be sheltered enough."

As we made our way outside, I couldn't help noticing the gun Akito had taken from the gangster, now standing propped up in the entrance hall, like some visitor's umbrella.

Akito led us through the deserted village to a spot just on the edge of the woods. The branches were trembling, fighting back as best they could, but the wind and rain were too strong for them, remorselessly battering them into submission. We all kept our heads down; if we looked up at all, we were met by a barrage of pinprick missiles that stung us like a thousand needles. Not far from the village stood an ancient oak, withering and dying with magnificent slowness, and Akito had dug a small cavity in the cracks between its roots. He had already moved Miaka to the spot. He nodded to Naoya, and the two of them lowered her into the hole, turning her carefully so that they didn't have to look at the missing side of her face.

Then they stood back, and we all looked down on her together.

"Goodbye, Miaka-chan," Akito said quietly. "I'm sorry we had such a short time to get to know each other. Even in only two weeks... well, you were a great club member, as well as a courageous warrior and a true friend. Our games always seemed more lively and cheerful when you were around. We'll never forget you, Miaka. Thank you for being our friend."

He broke off, choking and spluttering, and Naoya stepped forward to steady him.

Naoya's speech was shorter and simpler. "We'll miss you, Miaka-chan," he said. "I hope Oyashiro-sama is looking after you, wherever you are. You will always be one of us."

Then it was my turn – but honestly, I couldn't think of anything to say. I don't know whether I had turned into some sort of monster; but I felt then that all emotion had been beaten out of me, that there was nothing I wanted any more, that if Akito or Naoya didn't move me, I would just go on standing here until the rain washed me away. But it was expected of me, so I said "Goodbye" and sobbed over her; and Akito took up his shovel and scraped earth into the hole until Miaka was hidden from sight. I realised that I could no longer picture her face; it was as though she had been cleanly cut out from my memory. Oh, I still knew her name, and I knew that we'd had fun together. But Hinamizawa was gone now. All my previous life – there was no point in fighting to hold onto it. That would only hurt. A pity, I supposed, that someone so young and full of life should be reduced to this, a silent patch of dirt in a forgotten village. But any feeling of pity was so lost in the din of grief that I barely noticed it. Maybe Miaka had it the best of any of us. At least she got to be warm and cosy. It had to beat standing out here in the rain with nothing to do.

"Let's get back inside," Naoya said it last. It seemed that Akito, too, was unwilling to move; he just stood staring down at the little grave. Naoya touched his shoulder. "_Please._"

"Of course. What was I thinking?" He shook himself, and walked away. There was a heavy crash of thunder.

"Saki?" Naoya sounded desperate, and somehow that made me snap out of my trance and take notice. As usual, I'd been thinking only of myself, when Naoya-kun _needed_ me. I took his arm and led him away. He started to cry again. I don't think he'd cried as much in the rest of his life put together as he did on that day.

* * *

><p>So there we were, back in the house again.<p>

"What are we doing now?" I said.

"Waiting for the storm to pass," Akito said impatiently. "I know it might seem like it's going to last for ever, but –"

"And then what?"

Akito and Naoya shared an anxious glance.

"I don't know," said Akito. "We can keep trying on the phone, to see if there's anyone left of our families... any luck, Naoya-kun?"

It took a while for Naoya to get his phone out; his fingers were twitching and trembling. "Still nothing," he said at last.

"Then we'll just have to fend for ourselves," said Akito. "We can't stay here. We can go to Shishibone, and Naoya and I can look for work."

"How are we going to get there?" I said. I didn't mean to sound like I was whinging. I just wasn't sure how we were going to manage such a long journey, now that we'd lost our supplies.

"We'll walk until we get _somewhere_, and then take it from there. If we go back to the quarry, and find the body of that man you killed, we might at least find money in the pockets."

It sounded like a desperate plan, but it was at least a start, and I didn't like to raise objections and lower Naoya's spirits further. So I tidied myself up, used what was left of the toilet, and drank from a puddle of rainwater. And then – well, there was nothing to do but stand by the window and watch the rain. Akito's watch told us that it was night; the sky was so dark that we noticed no difference. Naoya fell asleep, and then a while later, so did Akito. Well, they had taken all the hard labour on themselves, and tired themselves out. Lucky bastards.

I had no defences left; I couldn't stop the horrible thoughts that had been bubbling up inside me all day long from overflowing and flooding my mind, just as the rain was flooding the village. So that was it – Akito, too, just wanted to get us somewhere else, look for work, leave the past behind. Miaka was dead. True, it was a two out of three chance that I had killed the man who shot her. But really, it was the organisation behind them, the Kanahebi, who were responsible for all this, and there would be no retribution for their leaders. Their big boss, Sakurahara – every schoolchild in Japan knew that name by now – was in an office in Tokyo somewhere, probably sipping coffee as he waited for the news to come that Hinamizawa was destroyed. He had given the order that had killed all our families and ripped up our lives, and he was untouchable.

My glance strayed back to Akito again. I sighed. He wouldn't like it if he knew I was dwelling on these things; but how was I supposed to help it? Of course I was concerned. The Kanahebi had followed us to Yagouchi, presumably because they wouldn't rest until the order to wipe out the Sonozakis had been carried out completely. That was their way. They had begun as a political group, campaigning against the domination of the yakuza; but one by one, the yakuza clans had fallen under their sway. Normally, they wouldn't have bothered with the Sonozakis, as Hinamizawa was such a remote and unimportant area. But Sakurahara was a kind of latter-day Alexander, conquering territories just because they were _there_. And no doubt when the history of our time came to be written, he would be painted as a hero, a great leader who ended the wars between the yakuza clans by uniting them into a single empire, even if it crumbled when he died.

Were we safe, even now? They knew we were here, and one at least had gotten away to report. They would be back, though surely not in this storm. No-one could travel in this, not even by car. The village had fallen to ruin; the roads around it would be just as derelict. No, they couldn't come back until the storm was over, and by then, we would be long since out of here.

Could they follow us? We all had good stealth skills and knew our way around in a forest; but the Kanahebi had far greater resources. They could certainly keep watch on the nearby roads and towns. Perhaps they could even track us through the forest. They _had_ followed us to Yagouchi, after all.

I stopped, as something I had put to the back of my mind flared up and stung me. _How_ had they tracked us here? They had definitely known that we were coming, and that Mikoto was here to pick us up – why else would they murder her? So...

_So someone must have told them._ The thought hit me with astonishing clarity. _Someone_ who was in the know about our plans had deliberately given us away to the enemy. That meant – Miaka and Mikoto themselves; but they had already been eliminated. Akito, Naoya and me. There was no-one else. The rest of the family had known that we were fleeing Hinamizawa, but they hadn't known _where_ we were going. It was one of us three. And I certainly knew that _I_ hadn't done it.

Could someone have overheard us discussing the plan? No, we'd taken care to make sure that didn't happen, because we'd already known there was a spy in the Sonozaki family. Could that spy _really_ be one of the two people who were with me now?

Impossible! Akito was our fearless club leader, and Naoya was his right-hand man. And yet, someone had betrayed us. One of the Sonozakis was a spy for the enemy. Who was it more likely to be than the only survivor, the one who'd made sure to get himself out of the village before the Kanahebi came?

_Wait, you don't know that._ Maybe there was another survivor, and he just wasn't answering Akito's texts because he didn't want to reveal himself. But surely, as soon as he knew the ambush in Yagouchi had failed, he would text Akito, pretending to have gotten away in the nick of time, arranging for us to meet so that we would walk into a trap. Perhaps that would still happen. But there would come a point where I would know the enemy _must_ have heard the news by now.

And then there was the scene in the quarry just now. Akito had gone out to deliver himself to the enemy, but maybe that had all been staged. They had certainly taken their time over killing him. Maybe Akito really didn't want me and Naoya to be killed – the plan, if I hadn't intervened, was to stage his death and get away together, leaving Naoya and me to get on with our lives, never knowing that he was responsible for the deaths of our families. And Miaka? Perhaps her death hadn't been part of the plan; his grief seemed real enough. I had to credit him that far.

Why did I suspect Akito, and not Naoya? Well – somehow, I just _knew_ it couldn't be Naoya. I trusted him. I remembered that horrible moment when he discovered my bloody clothes, and the look on his face. Did he know then, or guess, that I had been – I'm a big girl, I can say the word – had been raped? If he did, then he would never, _never_ associate with the enemy, I knew for sure.

Akito, on the other hand – well, he was a Sonozaki. What was it Karen had said, on that night when we hid the body? "We have to do what you might call dirty work." And Akito knew it, much as his softer side might rebel against the notion. Sure, I couldn't believe he could have had any part in arranging – what happened. But once it was done, he would rationalise it, he would think "That's in the past, and we just have to make the best of it and move on." That is the Sonozaki ruthlessness, and much as I love them all, they _all_ have it – Oryou, Akane, Aunts Shion and Mion; even Mother in her own way, though she's not a blood relative. Why else do you think I've always worked so hard to protect Kotone? Poor kid. No-one should have to grow up with that kind of legacy; but it's been even worse for her, because everyone around her, the very people who _should_ be doing everything they can for her, don't even understand that there's a problem. The Sonozakis have gotten so used to their madness that they give it a name, the Black Demon, and regard it almost as a friend. But we know, Mother and I, who stand on the outside, watching. You remember that scar on Kotone's neck, the one I showed Miaka the day we played Capture the Flag? I don't forget.

And here in this empty village, with no-one left to turn to except Akito and Naoya, I was slowly becoming aware that I can't trust him any longer.


	50. Part III Ch 15 A Red Herring

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**15  
>A Red Herring Swallowed One...<strong>

At last, I fell asleep; and when I woke up, it was late afternoon and the sun was piercingly bright. Somehow, even a storm as violent as that had managed to wear itself out and fade away. But the sunlight did little to revive my spirits. I was ravenously hungry, and still alone, trapped with the knowledge that nothing I did would make a difference now; there was no-one left I could protect.

"Saki-chan?" Naoya sounded worried. How long had I been out for?

I yawned. "Hey, Naoya."

"Are you all right?"

"Stiff, and cold, and hungry. About what you'd expect, really."

I gulped. Why was I talking about myself, at a time like this? Naoya was suffering too!

I fumbled for words. "Naoya-kun, I... what about... I mean, you know..."

"Still no word," he said. "Saki, I'm afraid we have to assume..."

"They didn't make it." Yeah. It was what I expected, really. We had clung onto hope for as long as we could, but deep down I'd known all along that it was likely we were hoping in vain. None of them had made it out. Naoya's mother, along with all the village children, Kotone and Kizuna, little Eiko and all the rest...

I convulsed as the tears I had held back so long finally came loose, and Naoya bent down and held me awkwardly. Since I had just woken up, if Akito had come in at that moment, it would have looked as if we'd been lying down together, but neither of us cared. I clung to him.

"Naoya-kun," I said at last, "I'm so sorry..."

"Well, that makes three of us," he said. I wasn't sure whether he meant that all three of us had lost our mothers, or that we were all sorry for each other's loss. Probably both.

Naoya sighed. "Still, we have to look after ourselves now," he said. "What do you say to breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" I said. "_Here?_"

"Akito caught some rabbits, and we've been preparing them together. We need to keep moving, but at least we can stop and eat."

_Food._ The thought fired me up so strongly that everything else was driven from my mind. Even if I'd watched Akito pour a suspicious-looking bottle over the chunks of rabbit meat, I'd have wolfed them down. I took Naoya's hand and we ran together. The water still lay thickly over the empty streets, so that we had to thread our way through a maze of thin ridges in between the puddles. By the time we reached the fringes of the wood, I had a fresh layer of mud on my clothes to add to the soil and blood and grime. Only a week ago, I would have been horrified at the thought of getting this dirty – but that was the old me, now gone for ever.

I could smell the meat roasting as soon as we entered the forest, so I let go of Naoya's hand and raced forward.

"Saki! Thank Oyashiro-sama you're all right," Akito said as soon as he saw me. _He's such a good actor..._

But he was also a good cook, and I settled down on a high bank that was less muddy, and we all tucked in together. This wasn't the first time I'd eaten rabbit, though don't ever tell that to Kotone. Aunt Shion felt her children should learn survival skills; and since Mother approved, when I was old enough we'd learned together. I had let Akito handle the messy parts, though. I wished now that I hadn't. I might need to know them soon enough.

At last we were refreshed, and Akito put out the little fire, carefully making sure it was really dead before he stood up and shook himself.

"It's time we got going," he said.

"Where are we going?" said Naoya. "I mean, which direction is Shishibone?"

"I don't know, but if we keep going in the same direction, we're bound to get _somewhere_. So we'll just keep on in the same direction we've been following from Hinamizawa. Then at least we won't end up going round in circles."

"They're really... all dead?" I whispered.

"I'm sorry, Saki-chan. I know how much it hurts."

_But do you? How can you really see what's in my mind, any more than I can see what's in yours? I can see you're hurting too – but is that an entirely different kind of hurt – because you caused all this?_

I said nothing, and just let Naoya lift me up. At least I felt a little bit better now. The food really helped.

_But how can I feel better? I have no right to... everyone's dead, and it's my fault! Well, maybe not entirely – but if I hadn't started meddling, if I hadn't insisted on hiding that body, just because I was so selfish and didn't want anyone to know about my treasures, if we'd gone straight to the police..._

The police. There was a thought.

"Akito-kun," I said, "can't we just call the police and get them to find us?"

"I'm afraid not," he said without looking round. "Now that the Kanahebi have taken over the area, the police won't dare to move against them. Everyone who matters will have been paid off anyway."

"Not Kumagai," Naoya said firmly. "He'd never accept a bribe."

"Then he's probably already been shot," Akito returned.

_Another death. And we all talk about it so casually now._

* * *

><p>We made our way through the woods in silence. In the direction Akito had chosen, there were no more paths, and the going became more difficult at once. Away from Yagouchi, the land sloped upwards, and the little extra strength we had gained from our meal soon began to flag. Still, I was used to exploring the woods around Hinamizawa, often overestimating myself and ending up faced with a long trek back on an empty stomach, so this was nothing I couldn't cope with. It was the sense of hopelessness, more than anything else, that made it harder to go on. The knowledge that, this time, there would not be a warm fire waiting for us at the end of the day; no lavish supper, and no lick from Emi, who was always so pleased to see me when I came home. Emi had almost certainly died along with everyone else; she was too old and tired to run away. And there was no home, now, for us to go back to; we could only go deeper and deeper into the woods, led on by Akito, who was almost certainly on the side of the enemy.<p>

I could almost have laughed at the irony. What had happened to rule seven of trapmastery – _always be aware of what traps your opponent may be setting for you_? Well, I didn't know what Akito was planning, but I knew one thing. He had the gun. If he'd wanted to kill Naoya and me in our sleep, we'd already be dead. While it was certainly symbolic, the idea of him leading us deeper into the woods to finish us off made no sense. Yagouchi was deserted, and he could have done it there as easily as anywhere else. So I just had to hope that he meant to keep us alive, and struggle on together. To be honest, I didn't even feel angry about his betrayal. That's the thing about the Sonozakis – you can't be angry with them, somehow. It makes no more sense than being angry with an avalanche for falling, or with a tree for casting a shadow over you. They are their own law of nature.

Naoya still checked his phone for texts – but less and less often. He, too, had given up hope. I wanted to reach out and clutch his hand, but something held me back. He might think that _I_ wanted _him_ to comfort me, and I couldn't bear to add to his burden.

At last the woods grew thinner, and the rustling of the leaves was mixed with another sound – the sparkling notes of running water. Suddenly, I realised how thirsty I had become – how had I not noticed it sooner? – and I ran forward to meet the stream.

Then I came to an abrupt halt. Just ahead of me, the ground fell away into a deep gorge, and the stream, barely more than a trickle, lay at the bottom. Akito and Naoya were soon standing beside me, and I felt Naoya's gentle touch holding me back.

"But why is it so dry?" he said. "Look at how much it rained yesterday!"

"Does that matter?" said Akito. "We need to work out how we're going to cross it."

"It looks like it might be possible to scramble down over there," Naoya said, pointing. "I'll go first and see whether it's safe."

"Be careful, Naoya-kun!" I called out.

"I'll be fine. I'll come back at once if there's anything wrong."

And Naoya lowered himself over the edge, and Akito and I were alone. I glanced uneasily up at him. His face was frozen, almost dead; but his hands clenched and unclenched in an almost robotic motion. What was he thinking? Was he just waiting for his chance to push me over, to get rid of me? Surely not... but then, we had no idea how much further we would have to travel. I was just a burden to the others at this point. They were kind enough not to draw attention to the fact, but it would be on their minds all the same. And it would be so easy – one shove would be all it would take, so easy to call it an accident, and Naoya would never believe Akito could do it...

I found myself shuffling away from Akito. It wasn't that I really thought he would try to murder me – he'd shown no sign of wanting to so far – but I still felt uneasy, being so close to him. I could breathe more easily if I were just a little further away...

"_Saki!_"

Akito's cry made me swivel around with a start.

"Stop! You're going much too close!"

What was he saying? I couldn't work out what he meant. He was running towards me. _He really was trying to murder me!_

"What's going on?" Naoya's voice called up from below.

_Naoya._ He would keep me safe. In less than a second, I had twisted myself over the edge of the gorge, and my feet were scrambling around, probing for a foothold in the rock. Akito and Naoya were both calling out, but their cries blended into each other and I couldn't make out any words. There, I had a foothold now. I dropped onto it, grabbed onto the rockface with both hands, and reached down for another foothold further below. One shoe came off, and there was a splash as it landed in the water, a long way below me. Was the gorge really that deep? But I wasn't afraid. I had explored the mountains around Hinamizawa enough to feel comfortable on much nastier cliffs than this. A noise above me told me that Akito was coming down after me. I was still high enough that one kick would send me flying, and it would probably be fatal. I practically jumped down onto a jutting-out rock, and my hands hurt like hell as they scraped against it. There was no time. Even if I tore my clothes and skin to shreds, I had to get down. This rock came too far out; I couldn't jump down onto the cliff below it. I had to try to squirm my way around it, without falling, to get back onto the smooth rockface. There – one hand across. Now for the other. Why was it slipping? Why was my heart pounding so fast? I'm not afraid of a little cliff like this!

Damn. My grip faltered, and suddenly the cliff was rushing up towards me, and all I could do was hold my arm in front of me so that it gripped the rock for just a moment, slowing me down, and then maybe the rest of the fall wouldn't be too much...

* * *

><p>"Saki. Please wake up. Talk to me."<p>

Huh? Why was Naoya hovering over me like that? My head hurt. _All_ of me hurt. I tried to get into a more comfortable position, and then I found that my arm wouldn't move. I lay back and opened my eyes. They were both there, Akito and Naoya, standing above me framed against the blue afternoon sky. But if I looked to the side, my view was interrupted by a high cliff. Then I remembered.

"What... what happened?" I mumbled.

"I'm the one who should be asking you that question," said Akito.

"Akito-kun, leave it," said Naoya. He had taken off his glasses. His eyes were swollen and misty with tears. "Saki, you fell down the cliff. I'm not sure how much damage you've done, but I think your arm is broken."

"And you're lucky to be alive at all, after the way you went charging down there," said Akito. "What got into you?"

"_Please_," said Naoya. "Don't be angry. She's been through so much."

"So have we all, but I didn't see you or me losing our heads like that."

"Please leave it," said Naoya. "We've got to think about how we're going to get out of this mess."

"I'll phone the ambulance service, and they can send a helicopter," said Akito. "And if Saki falls into the hands of the Kanahebi, that's her problem – I'm done with looking out for her."

"Akito!" Naoya said sharply.

"Please don't," I whispered. I didn't mean to sound so weak, but I was in more pain than I'd realised.

"You have a _broken arm_," said Akito. "You need to get to a hospital and get it seen to. Naoya and I can't help you."

"I can cope," I said firmly. "We'll get to Shishibone like we planned, and I can go to a hospital there. I can't stay here where the Kanahebi will find me!"

"You should have thought of that before you jumped down the cliff."

"But you can't make me! It would be murder!"

Akito sighed. "I suppose I can't. Very well, then – you two stay here, and I'll see if I can get us something to eat. Maybe by the time I get back, one of us will have thought of a way to get you up the other side of the gorge."

We watched him leave in silence. He was in a foul temper, swinging the gun from side to side as he went, slicing the heads off flowers, and slapping it against his leg. Naoya was more gentle, helping me to rest in the shadow of the cliff. He cupped his hands in the stream, and poured its cool water over my head and arm.

"I'm sorry, Saki," he said. "I really don't know how to treat this."

"It's all right." I smiled up at him. "You're doing your best. Just knowing that you're here with me helps a lot..."

"Well, I'm glad of that. But what on earth possessed you to go charging down the cliff like that?"

And he looked at me with so much worry and concern that I just felt I had to tell him.

"He tried to push me..."

"What?" Naoya sounded like he didn't know what I meant.

"Akito. He tried to push me over the edge."

"_What?_" His voice sounded entirely different now. "Saki, that's impossible! Akito would never, ever want to –"

"I'm serious!" I cried. "Naoya-kun, I was just standing there, and he came charging towards me, hands outstretched to push me..."

Naoya froze, his mouth wide open. "I don't believe this."

"Naoya, you must!" I tried to sit up, but a surge of pain held me back. I took a deep breath. I was committed now. "Honestly, it's true. I couldn't believe it at first, but he tried to grab me and throw me down, and I just managed to squirm out of his grasp..." Well, that part was a complete lie, but I had to say something stronger than the truth if I was to convince Naoya. He'd looked up to Akito all his life, and he wouldn't believe this of him. I probably wouldn't have believed it, if there hadn't been so many other incomprehensible things happening. Nothing seemed to make sense any more. It wasn't at all surprising that Akito had snapped.

Naoya's voice was cold and trembling, like an autumn breeze. "I just can't understand it." _Well, at least that's better than saying you don't believe it._ "Why the hell would he do that?"

"I don't know." I tried to reach up towards Naoya. "Please hold me, Naoya-kun. I feel so frightened."

Naoya reached down and gently put an arm around me.

"I'm here," he said softly.

_He's really worried about me. I've got to get all I can out of this._

"Naoya... you don't think of me as a burden?"

"What?" he said. "Of course not!"

"But I'm sure Akito does. That's all I've been, ever since we left Hinamizawa."

"That's not true!" Naoya said fiercely. "Saki, you saved our lives back in Yagouchi!"

"If I hadn't been here, then Akito wouldn't have had to give himself up for me in the first place," I sobbed. "Besides, the enemy have all gone now. There's nothing more I can do to help..."

"Don't think like that!" said Naoya, pressing my shoulder just a little too hard. I winced, and he faded back. "Oh, sorry. But, Saki, just having you with us... you have no idea how much you lift our spirits..."

"That's not what Akito thinks. You saw him just now. He wants to get rid of me."

"Saki, I can't believe this." But weaker now. I had my chance. I had to press the attack.

"It's true, Naoya-kun. He grabbed me and tried to shove me over. I couldn't be mistaken."

And Naoya turned and stared down the gorge in the direction Akito had taken.

"But then, Saki... what on earth are we going to do?"


	51. Part III Ch 16 And Then There Were None

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter**

**16  
>And Then There Were None<br>**

Neither of us spoke for a long time. I leant back and rested – why was I so tired? How badly had I damaged myself? – while Naoya got up and paced about, staring into the distance. At last he spoke.

"We can't stay here."

I looked up at him, almost as if I had just come awake and had no memory of anything that had gone before. "Naoya?"

"We can't just wait for Akito to come back, not if he – if he really means to hurt you." Naoya shuddered as he said the words. I noted that he couldn't bring himself to say "kill".

"But where can we go?"

"We'll just have to get you up the cliff somehow, and then – onwards."

"Naoya, it's _impossible_."

"If only we had a rope..."

"Even if we had, I couldn't hold onto it with only one good arm. Anyway, there's no good in wishing for rope. We left it behind with everything else, back in Yagouchi."

Naoya knelt on the edge of the water, gazing at his reflection. "Akito might still have some in his bag. I think he does."

"But, Naoya, you just said – we can't wait for Akito to get back –"

"I know," he said with a deep sigh. He looked back towards me, and his face was dusty with tears. "Saki – are you _really_ sure about this?"

"I'm sure, Naoya." Feebly, I reached my good arm out towards him, but he was much too far away. "I'm so sorry..."

"No!" he said with sudden vehemence. "Saki, you've got to stop blaming yourself." He crawled over towards me, and his fingers reached down and clasped themselves around mine. "You're an absolute saint, you know. You always take other people's burdens on yourself, and then start blaming yourself when they still hurt." He blushed. I'd never heard him speak with such intensity before. "It isn't right, Saki. What happened – that day in the cellar" – he nearly choked – "I think you even tried to blame yourself for _that_, and it nearly broke you. You've got to accept that... that some people are just evil, and it's not your responsibility to change them. Akito... I don't know why he's doing this, I don't, but I _can't_ accept that it's your fault. Saki – do you think he might have Hinamizawa Syndrome?"

_Of course._ That was the obvious move, and I hadn't even thought of it. "I don't know," I whispered. "Do you think so?"

"I... I think he must do." Naoya closed his eyes. "It's the only way I can understand him ever trying to hurt you. He loves you, Saki, he really does."

"I know," I said. "Then – what can we do?"

Naoya's fists were curled in on themselves as he struggled to stay together, and he spoke rapidly. "We can't take him to the Irie clinic – the Kanahebi will either have destroyed it or taken it over, along with the rest of the village. I don't think there _are_ any supplies of the vaccine anywhere else – no-one ever foresaw this happening. So – that means" – he was shaking so badly that I wanted to reach up and hold him, but I could not – "we have to stop him. I'm sorry, Saki. We have to. There's no other way out that I can see. If we just leave him, he'll only get worse until he claws his own throat out. It... it would be the merciful thing to do."

"_Naoya!_" I cried. He burst into tears, and knelt over me with his head pressing awkwardly on my shoulder.

"I've got to do it," he said. "Otherwise you'll be in danger. We both will. But I can't bear the thought of anything bad happening to you."

He turned away and sobbed. He was lost in a labyrinth of his own thoughts, and I couldn't reach out to him. I have never felt more lonely than I did in that moment. _Why aren't you blaming me, Naoya? I must be hurting you so much. You and Akito have been friends all your lives..._ Maybe I shouldn't have said anything, just let Akito finish me off, and Naoya never need know about it. What is my life worth at this point? But Naoya, with his crazy sense of honesty, would have blamed me all the more if he'd thought that I'd hidden the truth from him.

At last he stood up – hunched and drooping, his silhouette almost ape-like. "Wait here, Saki," he whispered, and he strode off.

_Wait._ As if there was anything else I could do. I could not move; even though it was my arm and not my legs that was broken, I felt such pain when I moved even a little that I knew I could not get far. Naoya had gone; I could not even call out to him, he was too far off now. What was going to happen had passed out of my control, and I could only stare up at the empty sky, wondering if Mother's spirit was up there somewhere, wondering whether she was proud of me.

The heat was sweltering, and I may have fallen asleep again, my broken body shutting itself down to do some repairs. The next thing I remember clearly was the sound of footsteps approaching, and I knew that Akito was coming back. I tilted my head. It was him, right enough; he was carrying two dead rabbits in one hand, his gun in the other. He was bent and weary; he did not even call out when he came into sight.

Then there was a cry, and something jumped out and landed on him. A blur of motion, and then an explosion, so loud in that stillness that I could hear nothing but the echo for a long time after.

_Idiot!_ I screamed silently. Why give him the chance to fight back? Just hit him with a rock or something. And then I realised that Naoya had deliberately given him a chance, because he couldn't bear to go through with this. It was as if he _wanted_ to lose.

Well, he had lost now. Naoya fell back against the rock, blood spurting from his chest. His eyes rolled, then came to a stop facing upwards. He was dead.

Akito shrieked. The gun slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground. "_Naoya!_" he screamed. "What is this? _Why?_"

He knelt over the body, desperately searching for signs of life. I took a deep breath. _Any second now, he's going to turn round and kill me. I really am defenceless now._ And this time, the thought of just giving in did not occur to me. He had killed Naoya. I had to avenge him.

Akito's gun lay still, caught in between two rocks as if they were fingers that stretched out to stop it slipping into the water.

I could get to it. I could bear the pain. It wouldn't last long.

I lifted myself up, just enough to start crawling towards the gun. I couldn't risk standing, in case Akito turned round and saw me. He would realise, soon enough, that Naoya was gone and there was nothing he could do about that. But he could still do something about me.

Just a little closer...

A sudden lurch of pain made my foot shift, and a small stone came loose and landed in the river with a plonk.

Akito swung round. I froze.

"Saki – what are you doing? What's going on?"

I had to feign innocence.

"I heard an explosion. What happened? Where's Naoya?"

His eyes were wide and bulging.

"Where's Naoya?" he cried hysterically. "Just look!"

I looked past him and screamed. I didn't have to feign shock. To see Naoya like that, crumpled, splattered with blood as if it was ketchup, broken and lifeless, when I had done all this _for him_...

"What did you say to him? Why would he do this?"

"I don't know!" I cried. "What are you talking about?"

Akito was trembling all over. "He would never. I can't believe it. He jumped out at me – I didn't know it was him! I didn't mean to shoot him, Saki, I swear it!"

He stepped towards me. I flinched back.

"Don't do that, Saki. Please... you're all I've got left..."

He wasn't talking to me any more. His eyes were half-closed, and I doubt whether he even saw me.

"I've got to get you out of here. Help you to safety. The only thing left I can do."

Well, if my flinching got a reaction out of him... I backed away from him, carefully, trying to ignore the pain that was now spreading through all my limbs.

"Don't... don't be frightened, Saki," Akito sobbed. "I won't hurt you, I swear! This... this was just an accident! I'd never hurt any of my friends, Saki, you know that!"

I had him where I wanted him now. I felt no pity. The old Saki would have felt pity; but I was not the old Saki, and this was not the old Akito. He had betrayed us, killed Miaka. If he was beginning to feel remorse – serve him right! But it would take a lot more than a few tears to atone for a crime like that.

"You're lying," I snarled.

"No! How can you say that?" He gazed at me, with a pleading look that reminded me of Emi. I glared back. He spread his hands wide, to emphasise that he didn't have the gun any more.

_Idiot. As if that's going to convince me. You wouldn't exactly need a gun to overpower me._ Still, it was true that he could have just killed me on the spot, if he'd wanted to. That made no difference. The person in front of me was a stranger, not my cousin. His motives were unfathomable.

"Get away from me!" I shrieked.

He faded back.

"Don't do this to me, Saki. Without you, I'd die... I've got nothing left to live for now..."

I put my hands on my hips and summoned up my fiercest glare – one I had inherited from Mother. "_And neither have I!_" I shouted. "You killed Naoya! He was all I had left!"

"I didn't... no, Saki, that's not fair..."

I had the advantage now, and I had to press it. I stepped forward, fire blazing in my eyes.

"_You murdered him!_"

"I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"

"How can you expect me to trust you?" I screeched. "We knew _someone_ had betrayed us. I should have known it was you all along!"

His mouth dropped open.

"_That's_ why Naoya... but how could you believe that? _Why?_"

And, finally, I had driven him back far enough. He wasn't ready; he never expected me to make such a sudden movement. I dived; and before he had time to react, I had whisked up the gun and was pointing it steadily towards him.

"_Saki!_" he cried. "You can't –"

I stared him straight in the eyes and smiled. For everything I had suffered – for Mother – for Miaka – I had the strength to do this.

"It ends here, Akito-kun," I said. "I _know_ it was you who told the Kanahebi where to find us, back in Yagouchi. No-one else could have done it, except me or Naoya – and I know it wasn't me, and I'm sorry, but I'm not going to believe Naoya was a traitor, no matter what you say!"

There was a long silence.

"Saki-chan," Akito said heavily, "I _don't_ believe that Naoya betrayed us."

"_Then how do you explain it?_"

"Perhaps someone was spying on us when we phoned Mikoto-san?"

"If there'd been a spy close by us in the forest, they would have finished us off there and then. Besides, how could they possibly have found us – or are you saying they followed us all the way from Sonozaki Manor, with _the entire family_ there and on the alert?"

At the first sign that I was willing to talk before shooting, Akito had started to advance towards me, but I prodded the gun at him and he stopped. "I'll believe in your invisible spy when I see him. Until then, I say _you're_ the obvious traitor."

Another long silence.

"Fine, then," said Akito. "Go ahead and shoot."

"Pardon?"

"You heard what I said." He glared back at me. "Just shoot. Oyashiro-sama knows, I deserve to die. Every decision I've made has turned out wrong. Miaka and Naoya are dead because of me. I'm no more fit to lead the Sonozaki family than a sausage. Kotone would have done better."

I laughed.

"You're just saying that... because you think I don't have the strength..."

Akito clenched his fists and gazed right into my eyes.

"You?" he said. "How could anyone think that _you_ don't have the strength? I should be ashamed to call you my cousin if I thought that."

All the same, I was trembling as my finger eased towards the trigger.

"_Just shoot, damn it!_ Are you the daughter of Fujiura Satoko or aren't you?"

And I fired.

Akito fell back, his fiendish grin stamped indelibly on his face. Blood spouted from his chest. He tottered backwards and fell against the rocks, his eyes rolling as his limbs went limp.

"_Aim for the heart, idiot! Can't you even get that right?_"

The gun fell from my hands, and I stood still as the wind blew the world past me. I think I must have fired again before I dropped it, because Akito had stopped moving.

And that's that. After all that running and hiding and plotting and panicking, it came down to this. I was the only one left.

Are you pleased with me, Mother?

It's all over. I found out the traitor. I killed him. There's nothing left to do.

But – now I have to go on.

Where? I have nowhere to go.

Like I'm even going to get _anywhere_ with this broken arm, with all this pain in my body. Besides, what's the point? There's no-one left to play games with. No-one to take the forfeit at the end. I shall just have to set a penalty game for myself.

That's right... it was my fault to begin with, and I never did pay the penalty for that. Akito and Naoya did their best to shield me, to make me forget, but – now that I'm alone, I can't.

Akito, whatever else he might have done, in the end faced up to his penalty like a true warrior. So must I.

I reached down and picked up the gun again.

Our last game of Elimination Poker was about to end. All debts paid, everything settled. No loose ends remaining. This was how it should be.

Mind you, there's one last thing I ought to get off my conscience before I wrap things up and bring this account to a close. You remember how, all the way back in the beginning, I said this one would be a story worth listening to, because it was _my_ story?

I lied.


	52. Part IV Ch 1 Indoor Cricket

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

narrated by Sonozaki Akito

* * *

><p><em>If you want a friend, you must also be willing to wage war for him:<br>and to wage war, you must be capable of being an enemy._

_You should honour even the enemy in your friend.  
>Can you go near to your friend without going over to him?<em>

_In your friend you should possess your best enemy.  
>Your heart should feel closest to him when you oppose him.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>1<br>Indoor Cricket  
><strong>

It was June, and you know what that means. Summer pressed against us like an extra person trying to squeeze onto a crowded bus seat. Each day was more sweltering and stuffy than the one before, and each day we sat in the oppressive silence of Mother's classroom, while our spirits were running wild over the fields, or napping on the window ledges and pulling mocking faces at us.

We relished every moment of freedom we could get. After school, and during lunch break, and whenever Mother wasn't looking our way, we played every game we knew. And when we ran out of games, we went together to Okinomiya to look for more games, or just to chill out together, or to engage in that most seasonal of pastimes, sitting at the back of a café and watching the girls go past.

I was disgruntled, and I wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps it was just a sense of gradual disappointment as the season wore on. There just weren't _enough_ girls in an out-of-the-way place like Okinomiya; it was off the tourist trail, so there was never anyone new passing through. Sure, there was the pretty waitress at the Old Oak, Aya-chan, who seemed to enjoy flirting with me; but I couldn't get too close to her, as my family owned the café, and it would be too easy for them to put pressure on her. Last year, I'd had a brief fling with a girl I met at one of Uncle Yoshirou's gaming tournaments; but that ended when we had some silly quarrel, I can't remember over what, and I realised she wasn't as pretty as I'd thought, and I didn't bother trying to get back in touch with her. And, of course, there was Mami... but the less said about Mami, the better, in my opinion.

So you can imagine how my world changed that Monday. We were sitting in class, and the teacher was trying to keep us quiet as usual, but there was a crackle of excitement in the air. We'd just heard that a new student was going to be joining us, and even if it was only for a month or so, a new student in Hinamizawa was like a new planet suddenly arriving in the solar system.

When the door creaked open, everyone immediately dropped their pens and looked round. For the tiniest moment, we were all guessing and placing bets against ourselves: what would the newcomer be like? Boy or girl? Quiet or lively? Would she look down on us, or try to fit in?

And then this stunning redhead walked into the room.

I can't describe her, and I'm not sure I would want to. That feeling of wonder when I first set eyes on her is all mine, not for sharing with anyone. Let's just say that Asuka from _Evangelion_ would have been jealous of her. Her hair blazed around her shoulders like a wreath of fire. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

Aunt Mion was taking the class that day, in Mother's place. I don't know why. They switched sometimes, whenever Mother was unwell or tired or hung over or just didn't want to take the class. Aunt Mion would always pretend she was reluctant, but the truth was that she loved taking class. She's the kind of person who stays at home unless someone gives her a reason to go out, even though staying in just makes her lonely and miserable.

The newcomer stood just inside the door, looking round unsurely. Aunt Mion greeted her with a warm smile, and led her into the room. "Everyone, we have a new student today," she said. "This is Teramachi Miaka, from Kyoto. Why don't you sit there, next to Akito?"

I heard a sharp intake of breath from the seat on my other side. Ryuuguu Naoya, my best friend and companion in wickedness. Was he also smitten by the gorgeous newcomer? He's shy, a bit geeky, and would never have the courage to _talk_ to a girl, but he can sit back and girl-watch with the best of them.

Still, even if we might be rivals, I had to do my duty as class leader and introduce him and myself.

"Sonozaki?" Miaka blinked when she heard my name. "You must be sensei's son, then?"

Well, I'm not actually Aunt Mion's son, but I have to go along with their little game.

"Now, I'll just go over our class rules," said Mion. "I expect all work to be neat and tidy and handed in on time – because I may be sweet and caring, but my identical twin sister is a real demon, so you'd better watch out, because on the day you forget to bring in your homework, it just might be my twin taking the class."

Miaka burst into laughter – a merry laugh like the glint of sunrise on a mountain pool.

"She doesn't really expect me to fall for that one, does she?"

Naoya adjusted his glasses. "Actually, Teramachi-san, she really _does_ have an identical twin sister."

Yes, and for anyone who's paying attention, she just called _herself_ a real demon. That's typical of the japes those two get up to. They must have been real terrors when they were kids. It's hardly a surprise they both lost fingernails.

The class settled down, and all was quiet until lunchtime, when the rest of our group came over to be introduced to Miaka. There's my cousin Saki, my little sister Kotone, and her best friend Kizuna. We are the Junior Games Club – so called because we carry on the traditions started by our parents (and Naoya's older sister) when they were all in school together. We're a close-knit bunch, but there's nothing like an extra person to give our games a bit of variety. So you can imagine, they were all grinning with excitement at the prospect of inducting her into the group. Especially Saki, who seemed a little _too_ eager, as if she regarded Miaka as an appetising morsel.

After school, the six of us remained behind when everyone else had gone. We put one table together and sat round; I was pleased to see that Miaka showed no sign of being in a hurry to get back to the clinic.

"What are we playing, big brother?" said Kotone.

"I think Naoya-kun had an idea..."

Naoya coughed nervously. He's always nervous about being put on the spot, even when it's just within our little circle.

"I have a penpal in England, Thomas," he said. "He knows I belong to a games club, so for my birthday this year, he sent me a set of cricket equipment. It's a game they're mad about in England. I thought we'd give it a try."

"Sounds fun," said Saki.

"I've never played," said Miaka. "Are the rules very complicated?"

"Well, we won't exactly be playing with the full set of official rules," Naoya said in his most professorial manner. "As there's only six of us, we'll have teams of three. One team is chosen to bat first, and the batsman stands in front of the wicket – that's this thing here." He went over to our games locker and took out a curious wooden object. It looked rather like one of Aunt Satoko's attempts at knitting a jumper. "Then, one member of the other team bowls the ball and tries to hit the wicket. If they hit it, the batsman is out. The batsman tries to stop them by striking at it with their bat, and if they hit the ball, they get to run until the other team catches the ball and gets it back to the wicket, which also gets the batsman out." He coughed again. "Uh... is that all clear?"

"No," Kizuna said bluntly.

"Ah well," I said. "Let's just go out and see how we get on. We can't spend all day arguing over the rules!"

"We have to cut for teams!" Saki reminded me.

Naoya won the cut and picked Saki, as tradition demanded. She is an annoying little pest, but when it comes to club games, she is also a formidable weapon.

I hesitated. It was tempting to just pick Miaka; but I had to think about whether Kotone would be hurt if I didn't pick her. She is my sister, after all, and I have to do my best to look after her, especially considering... no, we won't talk about that. It's in the past now. There was no point in overthinking things, so I just chose Miaka, and gave her a cautious smile. She smiled back so warmly that I felt I was melting from the inside.

"That means we cut for second pick," Saki said to Miaka with a grin.

Poor girl didn't stand a chance. I knew what to watch for, so I was the only one who saw Saki's little flick of the wrist, dislodging the extra card from her sleeve. Miaka took her loss cheerfully enough – an essential quality for a club member.

Saki picked Kotone, and smiled up at me as if to say, "So, what are you going to do about _that_?"

Kotone and Kizuna high-fived each other, then scurried to the back of their respective teams. They never seem to mind whether they're on the same team or not; they just enjoy playing together, without any hint of competitiveness. And that's fine, as far as I'm concerned. At least this time, the handicap of having them on our teams would be shared equally by both sides.

"Now," said Naoya, looking at me, "we have to toss a coin to decide who bats first."

"Why not cut?"

"That's just the tradition."

Anyway, I won the toss and decided to bat.

"Don't think we're going to go easy on you!" said Naoya. He's a wimp, really, but years of club games have toughened him up to the point where he can at least _talk_ a good game.

* * *

><p>So we went outside. The sun was sinking slowly, and the warmth of the day would linger for a few hours more. I hefted the bat and took up my position at the wicket, and Naoya faced me, posing with the ball in his hand. The others stood around haphazardly, waiting to be told what to do.<p>

His arm flew up and loosed the ball. It wasn't a bad throw, but I had no difficulty in meeting it. The ball soared into the air in a satisfying arc.

I stood for just a moment watching it – I had to, it was that beautiful. Then there was a flash of gold from out of nowhere, and Saki stood in front of me with the ball in her hand.

"What happens now?" she said with a fiendish grin.

"Well, Akito is out, so his team have to send in their second batsman. Who's that going to be?" said Naoya.

"Miaka," I said without hesitation.

She looked distinctly nervous. "I'm not sure if I can do this..."

"It's easy," I said. "Just hold the bat like I did, and whack it as hard as you can. Want me to show you?"

"I think I can manage." We smiled once more at each other. A good team spirit. It was almost as if Miaka was a club member already.

"Don't worry if you get out," I said. "They won't score any either, and we'll just have to call it a tie."

"All right." She took up her place, and faced Naoya with a defiant gleam in her eyes. Her hair burned in the sunlight as she swung her head. She was mesmerising.

Naoya bowled another good ball, and Miaka hesitated for a moment. Just as I thought it was about to go right past her, she lashed out and struck the ball off to the side. It bounced along the ground, straight past Kotone, who stood watching it as if wondering where it had come from and what it was doing there. Saki immediately took off, charging after the ball like a rocket.

"Run, Miaka!" I cried.

She ran. Holy Oyashiro-sama, she could run. Every movement of her body was so graceful, it was like watching a ballet dancer. We didn't have a second wicket, so we'd agreed that you had to run to the big oak tree and back. Miaka tagged the tree, and at the same moment, Saki dived, and came back up with the ball in her hand.

"Get her out, Saki!" Naoya shouted. "Throw it to Kotone!"

Saki sent the ball screaming towards us, and Kotone leapt up to catch it. Miaka was halfway back – I swivelled round to watch as they raced each other to the wicket –

– which wasn't there any more.

And neither was Kizuna.

"Huh?" I said. "What's going on?"

I looked hard at Kotone. She was bound to be in the know. Those two never get up to mischief singly.

"Not telling!" she said.

Saki had run back to us. "Kotone-chan?" she said. "Where's Kichi?"

"She took the wicket, so we can't get Miaka out." Kotone seemed perfectly cheerful about it – she seems cheerful about everything.

"Well, don't just stand there!" said Saki. "Go after her!"

"Wait!" I cried. "This is madness – Kichi can't just run off with the wicket!"

"Why not?" said Saki. "There was nothing in the rules about that."

"Actually," said Naoya, "in the laws of cricket –"

She pulled a face. "But you said we're not playing by the official rules – remember?"

And, as always, there was nothing either of us could say to that.

Kotone had long since disappeared; she had no particular desire to chase Kizuna down, but she wasn't going to disobey a direct order from a higher-ranking team member. There was a series of thuds and crashes from inside the building, then silence. We all looked at each other. Then another heavy crash.

"I think we'd better go and see what they're getting up to," said Naoya. "Come along, Saki."

I stood for a while, watching them as they hustled away. And then I realised I was alone with Miaka.

"Um... Akito-kun?" she said, sounding as if she were unsure about whether it was okay to use my name.

"Yes?"

"Should I keep on running?"

I laughed. "Whatever for?"

"Isn't that part of the game? To try to get as many runs as we can before they get me out?"

"Forget it," I said. "No point wasting your breath. You just sit down, and when they get back, we can tell them you made whatever number you like."

"But –"

She looked more amused than shocked, and that was when I knew she was going to fit right in.

"Are all your club games like this?" she said as we sat down on the grass together. She was so close beside me, and the breeze flicked her hair across my skin. I wanted to feel that sensation for ever.

"Pretty much, yeah," was all I could think to say.

Miaka grimaced, as though she had something to say and just couldn't find the right words. Though I was sure that her silence wasn't for the same reasons as mine. After all, a beautiful girl like her had to be confident – they always are. Back in Kyoto, she would have swarms of boys hovering around her and telling her how amazing she was. That would be enough to make anyone start believing in themselves.

I heaved a deep sigh, and looked away, as if the battle going on in the background was absorbing all my thoughts. The heavy crashes had stopped, indicating that the first phase of overconfident chasing had given way to a more tactical and methodical hunt. Every now and then came a sudden clank as Kotone caught sight of Kizuna and she ran for cover, the wicket bumping against the school furniture as she ran.

"She's holding out remarkably well against three of them," said Miaka.

"They'll get her," I said. "Saki's the daughter of our champion trapmaster. She won't lose."

"You must all be very close." Was it just me, or was there a note of sadness in her voice?

"That's the spirit of Hinamizawa," I said. "The Dam War twenty years ago taught our parents to stand together, and they've done their best to pass it on to us, so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past."

"Wow," she said softly. "I'm jealous."

I shot her a glance. "Jealous? Surely not."

She sighed, and leant back against the tree. I didn't know what to say. There was something on her mind, but if she didn't want to share it with me – well, it must be hard on her, being away from her crowd of admirers.

At last the silence was broken by a loud shriek from inside the building, followed by what sounded like a clown on stilts dancing over the wooden floor. Then silence again.

After a long time, Miaka spoke. "It's so different in the city," she said. "Everyone's too absorbed in themselves, and you just don't have the same kind of community spirit that you have here."

I snorted. "You can't really mean that you'd prefer to live here."

"Why not?" Miaka sounded a little offended.

"You'd get tired of the place pretty quickly, believe me," I said. "There's never anything to do, no new people to meet – except for you, of course, but you're the first outsider we've had in years. For us, getting to spend any time in the city – any city – is our idea of paradise."

"Well, I think you'd get tired of the city pretty quickly if you had to live there," Miaka returned with a gentle laugh. "You can't play these sort of games. You don't have the same kind of freedom."

"There is that, I suppose." I sighed.

From inside the school there came a very strange sound, a long metallic rattle like a file being drawn over the bars of a cattle grid.

Miaka pulled a face at me, and we both laughed together.

"Yeah, there are some things I wouldn't miss," I said.

"You don't enjoy your club?" said Miaka.

"I don't know. It's a lot of hard work sometimes, keeping the little ones entertained."

"Well then, why do you do it?"

I shook my head. She was an outsider, and there wasn't necessarily any harm in telling her certain things, but still – they are not my secrets.

"I have to," I said. "For Kotone, especially. You haven't seen what she was like before we restarted the club. She was... well, sometimes she looked almost dead on the inside."

"I'd never have guessed," said Miaka. "She always looks so cheerful."

"Yeah, she does," I said. "But... she's a troubled kid, in some ways. Well, she would be. She's Mother's daughter, after all – and from what I've heard, Sonozaki Shion had a rather troubled childhood herself. And now she's passed on the family demon to Kotone."

"But I'm impressed by how much you do to look after her."

I turned away. I couldn't bear to let her see how I looked after a compliment like that.

Fortunately, it was at that point that the door burst open, and Kizuna leapt out, still clutching the wicket tightly to her chest, with Saki hard on her heels. In a move that would have looked impressive on a rugby pitch, Saki dived and caught Kizuna's legs, and Kizuna crashed to the ground.

"Got you!" Saki cried triumphantly.

But Kizuna wasn't defeated yet. She rolled out of Saki's grasp, and evaded her just long enough to throw the wicket into the air. "Catch, Miaka!" she yelled.

Miaka leapt out to catch it, and at the same moment, Naoya jumped out from the doorway. The two of them crashed around each other in a heap, with the wicket entangled around them like a lasso.

Saki grudgingly let go of Kizuna, and everyone got to their feet.

"Did we win?" said Kizuna.

"You got one run," said Naoya.

"Oh." She swung her arms casually. "And is that good?"

"Let me put it this way," said Naoya. "In a professional match, a team would normally try to score in the hundreds of runs in one game."

"Oh."

By mutual consent, the match was abandoned, with Miaka's one run being the winning score.


	53. Part IV Ch 2 Angel Mort

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**2  
>Angel Mort<br>**

It was Saturday the seventh, and the summer sun was sweltering in the sky. We only had a half-day at school; Mother said she had to sort things out for the Watanagashi festival, but I think she was just exhausted and wanted a break as much as we did. There was a loud clatter as everyone joyfully packed away their things.

Kotone sidled up to me. "Where are we going today, big brother?"

I shot a glance at Miaka. "Hey, fancy a trip to Okinomiya?"

She looked doubtful. "I'm not supposed to leave the village..."

Yeah, I forgot to tell you about the special circumstances. Irie-sensei wanted her kept under observation in case her Hinamizawa Syndrome showed any signs of resurfacing.

"It'll be okay," I assured her. "We're all here to look after you, and Irie-sensei knows I'm a responsible club leader."

Saki laughed, the little pest. Fortunately, Miaka seemed inclined to trust me.

"All right," she said after a while. "How do we get there?"

"We normally ride bikes," said Naoya. "Of course, we could get the bus, but they're not frequent, and we could end up having a long wait." He gave a thoughtful frown.

"Can you ride a bike, Miaka-senpai?" asked Saki.

"Of course! But mine's back home in Kyoto."

"I have a spare you could borrow," said Naoya. "Actually... it's Rena's old bike, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind you using it."

"I promise I'll be careful with it." And she reached out a hand and placed it over Naoya's clenched fist, as if comforting him. Wait – does she even know who Rena was? I don't remember ever telling her...

Saki elbowed me in the side. Hard.

"_Hey!_ What was that for?"

"You just gonna sit there all day staring at them?" she whispered.

I shot her a look of contempt, which was all the response she deserved. Although – yeah, if I'm being honest, I had to admit I _was_ staring at them just a little bit. Have to stop doing that. It's all right when it's the waitresses in Angel Mort – they wear skimpy outfits that positively _invite_ you to stare – but it's different when it's a club member. But it's a bit odd that she should put her hand on Naoya's like that. I suppose she must have heard about Rena somehow. But how?

I sighed and leant back; the legs of my chair made a heavy scraping sound across the floor. Naoya and Miaka looked up.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>And so, a few minutes later, we were all on bicycles, riding like the wind towards Okinomiya. Rena's bike fitted Miaka perfectly, and she was clearly a good rider; after the first few minutes there was no excuse to keep watching her.<p>

Sunshine, and a slight breeze in our hair – what more could we ask for? All worries and cares were forgotten at once; I just wanted to enjoy the moment.

It was not a long journey. We soon reached the crest of the hill, and the town of Okinomiya came into view below us. The sight renewed our energy, and what seemed moments later, we were sliding through the streets towards the town square. I drew to a halt and waited for the little ones to catch up.

"So, where are we going?" Miaka asked when we were all together.

"To get a drink, first of all. We'll go to Angel Mort."

Her reaction was not what I had expected. She tensed for a moment, as if gripped by some fear. It passed, and left her staring downwards with wide eyes and trembling lips.

"What's wrong?" I said. Had someone told her about the café and given her the wrong impression? Surely not – except for the club members, she didn't know anyone in Hinamizawa. There was Irie-sensei, but he has an open mind about it. I think he was a keen girl-watcher in his younger days.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. Just a weird mood. Please don't mind me."

"Well, okay," I said doubtfully. Then I shook my head as well. This wouldn't do; I had to keep my club members happy. "Come on, Miaka-chan," I said. "You'll feel better once you're sat down inside with one of their famous milkshakes."

"All right, then," Miaka said with a broad grin. "Lead on!"

We rode into the parking lot, and left our bikes in the rack that ran along the side of the building.

"Don't you put locks on them?" Miaka asked.

"Heh, this place is owned by the Sonozakis. We don't have anything to worry about."

"Okay." She sighed, and then looked up at the façade, with the name "Angel Mort" in bright letters running over the entrance.

Something really _was_ wrong. She was standing staring at it, as if she'd suddenly forgotten that the rest of us were there.

"What is it, senpai?" asked Kizuna.

"This place – Angel Mort –" Miaka said slowly. "Wasn't there a murder here?"

Naoya and I exchanged blank looks.

"A murder, Miaka-san?" said Naoya. "Whatever makes you think that?"

"I'm sure someone told me." She frowned and shook her head. "In fact – wasn't it you?"

Naoya started.

"Me?" he said. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken, Miaka-san. There hasn't been a murder here since – I don't know –"

"There hasn't been one as long as the café's stood here," I said firmly. "I'm a Sonozaki, remember. I would have heard."

"Of course." There was an awkward pause. "Sorry, I didn't mean to spoil the mood. Um... shall we go in?"

"Sure," I said. But I stood back, and let Saki slip in and take my place at Miaka's side. I'd caught a glimpse of a serious expression on Naoya's face, and I knew that he wanted a chance to talk to me alone.

"What is it?" I whispered once the girls were inside.

"I hope it doesn't mean anything," Naoya whispered back. "But – we have to be especially watchful of Miaka. You know why."

"Yeah." There was no point in saying anything more. Besides, I wasn't sure I could bring myself to say the words out loud. She was such a sweet girl – she never deserved to have anything like _that_ happen to her! The Hinamizawa Syndrome had already messed her life up enough. Though I suppose you could say that, on the plus side, without the Hinamizawa Syndrome she'd never have met us, and that had to be a good thing, right?

When we stepped into the café, Saki had already chosen a table and bagged the best seat, beside the window with a view of the people going by. Not that Naoya or I would be thinking of watching _outside_ when we're in Angel Mort, of course. But it's different for Saki because she's a girl.

Miaka, oddly enough, was reading a newspaper.

"Anything interesting there?" Kotone asked.

Miaka blinked as though she'd just woken up. "Oh – I just felt I ought to check the date," she mumbled.

"Saturday, the seventh of June," Naoya said at once.

"Thanks. Okay, let's sit down." And she drifted towards the table.

I followed her with a determined stride. If she really did have something on her mind, then I had to distract her to stop it troubling her.

Miaka was sitting beside Saki. I took the window seat opposite them. "Have you decided yet, Saki-chan?" I asked.

Let us draw a veil over the next few minutes. Suffice it to say that Saki immediately burst into a long list of ingredients that sounded fine individually, but _disgusting_ as a mixture; while Miaka just stared at the menu until Saki was done, then pointed half-heartedly at a boring lime milkshake and said, "I'll have that."

Naoya, who had slipped onto the seat beside me, was looking over his shoulder, already getting several minutes' head start over me. A waitress caught his eye, and slithered over to our table and bowed.

"The usual, Ryuuguu-kun?"

"You know me so well, Yuri-chan." We knew all the waitresses here by name.

"And the rest of you?"

Saki burst into her recital all over again, while Miaka just sat back listlessly and let Naoya order for her.

We all gave our orders, and Yuri bustled away, with Naoya still staring after her.

"Miaka-senpai?" Kotone said timidly. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. Fine."

I sighed. This was all going wrong, and I didn't understand why. What _was_ all this about a murder, anyway?

"Miaka-chan, if something's troubling you, I wish you'd talk to me –"

She suddenly leant forward, her eyes blazing.

"_Fine!_" she said. "All right, something is trouble me. Maybe I'm going crazy, but I'm _sure_ I remember Naoya telling me about a murder in Angel Mort. It was a young girl, one of the waitresses – I think you said she was shot. And you're all denying it. And I don't want to, but I can't help thinking, what if there _was_ a murder and you all know about it and you're keeping silent because you think it would upset me? Can't you see that keeping silent like this is only making things worse?" She took a deep breath and screwed up her face, holding back a sob.

"Miaka-chan," Naoya said softly, reaching out towards her.

"I'll handle this," I said. "Miaka-chan, I promise you, there has been no murder, and if there had been, we would tell you."

"Really," said Kotone, nodding fervently.

"Thanks," Miaka said weakly. "I'm sorry, everyone. I just can't get that thought out of my mind."

"Just enjoy your milkshake, and all your negative thoughts will go away," said Saki.

"All right."

Yuri had returned with the first round of milkshakes by then, and Saki grabbed hers, and pushed Miaka's across the table towards her. Miaka bent over it, and half-heartedly gave it a sip. I didn't blame her; you can't get excited about a shake as insipid as that one. But Miaka seemed contented enough, so I left her to it.

Saki slurped her shake down in about half a minute, and was fidgeting impatiently as she waited for the rest of us to finish. I frowned. It was so hard to know what to say. It was tempting to talk about the weather, sports results, _anything_ to break the silence; but it would have been far too transparent an attempt to change the subject.

It was another waitress who arrived a moment later with Kotone's and Kizuna's milkshakes. She was a girl of about my age, new on the job, to judge from how nervously she handled the tray. She was cute, in an everyday kind of way, with a round face and a mop of red-brown hair.

"There you go," she said as she placed the drinks on the table. "Nice to meet you. My name's Anzu; just give me a shout if –"

There was a heavy crash.

We all looked round. Miaka's glass had fallen from her hand and was rolling across the table, sending a mess of green slime spreading everywhere. Miaka was trembling like a jelly.

"What is it?" said Kizuna.

"A... Anzu?" Miaka mumbled.

"Yes?" Anzu was already busy clearing up the spill; she paused and looked round at Miaka with an expression of concern.

"No – it's too horrible!" Miaka screwed up her face, as if she couldn't bear to look at us any more.

"What on earth is the matter, Miaka-san?" said Naoya. This time I made no attempt to stop him.

Miaka stood up – still trembling. She turned, and her hand roved, as if seeking some particular point. It settled pointing beyond Kizuna towards the corner of the room.

"He was there. He screamed out, _'Anzu!'_ – and there was a loud bang, and blood everywhere..."

"What?" Anzu said faintly.

Miaka whirled round and stared at me with a sudden fierceness.

"Hey!" she said. "You said there hadn't been a murder – and Anzu's here – what if I'm seeing the future?"

"Don't make jokes about that, Miaka-senpai," said Kizuna.

"It's not a joke." Miaka gripped Saki's shoulder for support, so tightly that she winced. And Saki's so strong that I sometimes wonder if she's made of rock.

"I saw it, I tell you. As soon as Anzu said her name, I could see it so clearly – I was _there_. No – I _will_ be there. It's going to happen, I just know it!"

By this time, the other waitresses had come up to see what was going on. They were keeping a respectable distance, forming a semicircle around us. "Is something wrong?" said Yuri.

"This weird girl says that someone's going to murder me," said Anzu.

Yuri's eyes were cold with suspicion. "Nonsense. Why would anyone want to murder you?"

"Miaka was just having a vivid dream," I said quickly. "Don't look at me like that, Miaka-chan. For a start, we don't allow anyone to bring weapons in here."

"It was _not_ just a dream!"

"Don't make a scene, Miaka-san," said Naoya.

"I've got to say this." She looked imploringly at Anzu. "You'll stay away from here, won't you? Promise me you'll stay away!"

"I... um..." Anzu flushed and backed away. She looked frantically from one of us to the other, then turned, saw a convenient gap in the semicircle, and ran for it.

Yuri stepped forward. "Sonozaki-san," she said. "I understand that this girl is here as your guest. Nevertheless, I can't allow my staff members to be harried in this manner. I will have to ask her to leave."

"You can't do that!" Saki burst out.

"Quiet, Saki-chan," I said. "It's all right. You stay and finish your milkshake. I'll take Miaka-chan home."

I glanced at Miaka, to see how she would respond to the suggestion. She looked close to tears, staring in the direction Anzu had gone as if hoping desperately that a wish could bring her back.

"Come on," I said. "You'll feel better once you've had a lie-down."

"This isn't about how I feel!" she burst out. "Don't you understand, Akito-kun? That girl's going to be murdered!"

"We won't allow that to happen," I said. "Look – I'll admit that I don't believe any of this, but I'll inform the family and tell them to keep a lookout. The Sonozakis won't stand for a murder happening on their territory."

"But what can they do?" Miaka sounded desperate.

I looked around. Now that Miaka seemed calmer, a few of the waitresses had drifted off to attend to their duties, or perhaps to find Anzu and make sure she was all right. Yuri still stood there, impervious, watching us.

Miaka seemed steady enough to walk now, so I took her hand and led her outside. It was such a natural action that it wasn't until we were standing by the bicycle rack that the thought struck me. _I was holding Miaka's hand._ Her skin was soft and smooth; I could feel her tremors and hear her heart beating. For that moment, her fear was shared between us.

"We'll do something, I promise," I said. "Look – tomorrow's Sunday. I can go to Shishibone and speak to cousin Toshio. He handles the family paperwork. He can find out all there is to know about this girl and who might want to kill her. If we can find out who it is, then we can get cousin Karen to give them a call and scare them off. She's good at that; she even scares us." I managed a not very convincing laugh. "If not, we can arrange things behind the scenes, get her transferred away out of danger."

I smiled, and tightened my grip on Miaka's hand. She didn't pull away.

"Is that good enough for you?"

"I... I guess so," she said. "But – I feel so helpless, Akito-kun. I don't understand what just happened, and I'm frightened. Up until now, I don't think I believed in such things, but it was all so vivid, so _real_... I think something horrible really is going to happen, and this must be a sign – it's almost like I've been _chosen_ to prevent it – does that sound crazy, Akito-kun?"

"A little."

She took a deep breath. "Well, at least you listened, and that's something."

"Yeah."

We lapsed into silence.

Just my luck. We get a gorgeous new classmate, and she turns out to be a headcase. And now I've promised to give up my Sunday and go and visit my relatives. I suppose, if it's to make a beautiful girl happy, I can't refuse.


	54. Part IV Ch 3 Curiosity

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**3  
>Curiosity<br>**

The city of Shishibone is our centre of local government. Technically, it's not far from Hinamizawa; but the winding mountain roads make it a long and arduous journey. We go there to visit our cousins every so often. For Kotone, a trip to the city is an amazing treat: just seeing the paved streets and the modern concrete buildings inspires her with such awe that she stands, dumbstruck, and I have to grab her hand and drag her away before someone walks into her. I can't imagine how she'd react if we ever go to visit Miaka in Kyoto. I know I shouldn't be thinking about that, but I can't help it. Miaka is only staying in Hinamizawa for one month. We'll have to make sure we keep in touch. If she wants to, that is. She seems to like us well enough. But I've tried to stay in touch with people before, and I know how it goes. You can't describe the things that really matter to you, the club games, the feelings of triumph and disappointment, the challenges and achivements of everyday life. When put into words, it becomes frozen and lifeless. Over time, you give up trying, and it fizzles out to a few words of "How are you? How are things going?" before even that becomes meaningless and fades into nothing. Just this once, I wish for something more than that.

But anyway. Once I reached Shishibone station, I got a taxi to Uncle Saburou's place, which is a way out in the suburbs. In all, the journey from my home to his took over three hours, and I arrived just after noon.

Sonozaki Saburou is really my great-uncle, the youngest of Grandma Akane's three brothers. He had done well for himself. He had been a Councillor in the Prefectural Assembly, and was now retired to the less peaceful life of the politics of the Sonozaki family. His mansion was smaller than the main manor, but more ornate, with marble columns and gargoyles and architectural features that I didn't know the names for; and unlike our manor, it was _his_ home, built entirely with his own money.

I was let in by the maid, who bowed and asked me if I was joining them for lunch. Uncle Saburou's permission was not necessary: in spite of his age, his wealth and his status in society, I still outranked him within the family. I didn't want to make a show of it, but this was part of the way the family worked, and I couldn't just ignore it. So I accepted the invitation with a confident smile.

She showed me into the dining room, where lunch had just been served. I sat down and greeted everyone. There was Uncle Saburou and Aunt Meiko, and their three children: Toshio with his wife Saya, Chiharu with her husband Junpei, and Karen. I knew all of them well enough that I could settle in and join in the conversation as easily as I would at home.

We did not talk about family business. Karen asked me a few questions about Mother and Aunt Mion; she is always insatiably curious about their doings. But really, this time there wasn't very much to say. Mother had been very busy overseeing the preparations for the Watanagashi festival, and Aunt Mion was keeping to herself, as she always did around that time of year. Watanagashi always reminded her of the guy she had a crush on when they were at school together, who died at the time the festival preparations were going on one year.

Chiharu didn't bother talking to me. I've never really gotten on with her. It's hard to be comfortable around someone who is both so beautiful and so intensely aware of it – unlike Miaka, who is a complete natural. Chiharu seems to regard any male around her as if they _should_ be in love with her, and hardly seems to know what to say to someone who isn't. I sometimes wonder if it isn't all an act to keep Karen in her place.

As for Junpei, he sat there resplendent in his black clothes, light glinting on the curves of his tattoos as they twisted around each other, probing and strangling and stabbing. He acknowledged me with a slight glance; his eyes _regarded_ me, took me in, and moved on. As far as I know, he isn't interested in anything except Chiharu. I wonder what on earth the pair of them are like when they're alone together. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, they're expecting their first baby this winter. Toshio and Saya have two kids already.

Saya is nice. At least she tries to talk to me as a friend would, to show interest in what _I_ get up to – though her ideas of what young people do with their time are a few years out of date. I explained about our club activities and the games I was playing on my PS2 – which led to a long digression as I tried to explain what exactly that was. And, of course, I told her about how we had a new kid in the village and were doing our best to entertain her. _That_ she could understand – though I had to veto her suggestion of bringing Miaka to see them at Shishibone.

After we had eaten, Saburou asked me if there was anything I needed. He was polite, but guarded. He was not particularly pleased to see me, I think, in case my visit meant some family business that he would rather not get involved in; but he has a high regard for Grandma Akane, and I knew that I could count on him if I had to.

This time, though, it was Toshio I wanted to see; so we went up to his office together. He sat down in a swivel chair by the desk, and showed me to a comfortable armchair by the window.

"So, how can I help you?"

I took a deep breath. "I need whatever information you can give me about a girl called Guren Anzu, a waitress at Angel Mort."

Toshio blinked. "Is this one of your love interests?"

"No!" I glared at him.

"Well, then?"

I sighed. The family always have to make things so complicated. How could I explain why I needed to know, when I wasn't really sure myself?

"I think she's in danger," I said. No, that wouldn't do. I had to sound more convinced. "I... or rather, one of my friends heard someone making threats towards her. I'd like the family to keep an eye on her." I kept my eyes half-closed, hoping that Toshio wouldn't be able to read my expression.

"Very well," he said. "Just wait a second."

He went over to the far wall, which was entirely taken up by a series of filing cabinets. After squinting for a while at the labels, he opened one and rustled around until he found the file he wanted.

"Here we are. Guren Anzu, age fifteen, resident in Okinomiya, moved there with her family two years ago. Previous address in Takarazuka. Father, Guren Ichirou, is the manager of the local cinema. Report from her previous school describes her as quiet and studious, with a hobby of collecting memorabilia relating to film stars. No known criminal activities or romantic entanglements."

I persisted. "And no reason why anyone would want her dead?"

Toshio adjusted his glasses. "There's nothing in here," he said. "And if there was anything out of the ordinary about her, it _would_ be in here. From the looks of it, she's just a normal girl, with nothing more in her life than the usual quarrels with her friends, teenage heartbreaks and so forth. Nothing anyone would kill her over."

I had to agree.

"Can I inquire as to the source of your information?"

"Um... that's rather a personal matter," I said.

"Then I'm afraid I can't help."

He half-turned away, as if to suggest that I should leave. I sat for a moment in silence. It was tempting to accept defeat, but I had given up a whole day for this, and I couldn't go back to Miaka with nothing.

Miaka. Now _there_ was a thought.

"Toshio-san," I said slowly, "you have a file on everyone of interest to the Sonozaki family, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Then... what have you got on Teramachi Miaka?"

"The new girl in your village you were telling Saya about?" He smiled, and I knew then that he wasn't going to turn me away. If Miaka was good enough for Saya, she was good enough for him.

I nodded.

"Well, you know that it's very unusual in the first place, to have an outsider staying in Hinamizawa for an extended period. So she's considered a person of special interest, and her file will be in the top-security safe." He crossed over to the side wall, where there was a rather ugly picture of a sailing-boat in a stormy sea; under it, a perfectly blank patch of wall with no sign of a crack or break. Then he touched the wall in a certain place, and a panel opened up, revealing a huge safe with seven wheels holding its lock closed. It wasn't just theft-proof. It was Karen-proof.

I sat back; I could have demanded that Toshio show me how to open the safe, but it was more courteous to show him that I was happy to leave the knowledge in his hands. He span the wheels round, and after a minute or so, the door clanked open. Toshio took out a file and sat down again as he leafed through it.

"That's odd," he said after a while.

"What have you found?"

"Wait there a moment."

Toshio placed the file carefully on his desk, went over to the door, leant out and shouted, "_Karen!_"

"Yes, brother?" Karen said quietly. She was sitting in the armchair that stood by the bookcase at the back of the room. I hadn't noticed she was there until that moment.

He span round and glared at her. "What are you doing there?"

"Oh, just relaxing," she said with a calm smile. "You know I have no interest in your business, brother. But" – her voice suddenly dropped an octave – "if someone has been making threats against one of the family's employees, that _does_ concern me."

Toshio bit into his lip. "And Teramachi Miaka? What's your interest in her?"

"Never heard of her."

"Then why has her file been tampered with?"

Karen stood up slowly, so that the light seemed to fade from the room as her dark hair swished around her. "Tampered with, brother?"

"There's a page missing. This first page has the details of her hospital treatment in Kyoto, referral to the Irie Clinic, and so forth. Then there's her school record. In between, there _should_ be a page with details of her parents' address and occupation, date and place of adoption, details of birth parents. All that is missing."

"And you assume that it was me."

"When confidential information goes missing, it generally _is_ you."

Karen's face was fixed in a furious scowl. "Brother, as you well know, if I wanted to take anything from the files, I'd make a copy and then put the original back intact, so you'd never notice it had been touched."

"Well, who else could have got into my safe?"

Karen snorted. "I _thought_, brother, you had that safe installed especially to keep me out. If you're willing to believe I managed to break your latest toy – why couldn't someone else?"

Toshio had no answer to that. After he and Karen had spent a minute glaring at each other, he said, "Well, if you want to make me believe it wasn't you, why don't you get about finding out who it actually was?"

"Certainly," she said coldly. "Let's have a look at this famous file, for a start. Akito-kun, come over here."

"Why are you involving Akito?" Toshio snapped. I don't think he meant to be rude; he was just angry.

Karen sighed. "You really are an idiot sometimes. He _is_ involved. His after-school games club are helping Miaka settle in, in case you weren't paying attention to the conversation, which was quite rude of you, by the way. And if Miaka thinks this Anzu girl is in danger –"

I blinked. "Wait a minute. I never said that _Miaka_ said that –"

"No, but you have now."

I ground my teeth at her. "But how did you guess?"

Karen gave me a gentle smile and touched my shoulder. "Akito-kun, you'll have to learn how to keep secrets if you want to succeed as the head of the Sonozaki family."

"Never mind that," I said hastily. "What does this have to do with the missing file?"

"Well, firstly, if there _is_ someone who wants to murder this girl, and they know that Miaka knows about it, then they would naturally want to silence her as well."

My breath stopped, as it so often did at the casual way Karen spoke of death. It was the main reason why, no matter how well we got on, it was impossible to like her. But when she spoke of _Miaka_ like that – well, it may have been an irrational reaction, but I almost felt I hated her, as if she herself were the mysterious enemy.

"You're going much too fast," said Toshio. "I've seen no evidence that there's any kind of conspiracy to commit murder going on at all. It's so typical of you, Karen – ever since you came back from your ninja training, you were seeing conspiracies everywhere. I don't know, maybe you were just desperate for your training to be of some use. Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but there just isn't much call for ninjas in the modern world."

"And yet you have a bodyguard –"

"That's different," Toshio snapped. "How many times do I have to explain this to you? We have guns and bodyguards so that everyone knows the Sonozakis are not to be messed with. And the result is that people leave us in peace. I know you're itching for all kinds of mad adventures, but such things just don't happen nowadays."

"Then who do you think broke into your safe, brother?"

They faced each other, both with hands on their hips, staring each other down as if trying to see which of them could glare the other into the floor.

"I remain to be convinced that it wasn't you," said Toshio.

Karen sighed. "Brother, there's a bit more to this than you seem to realise." He raised his eyebrows, but she pressed on. "What I said just now – that if I wanted that information, I'd take a copy and not the original – that would apply equally well to _anyone_. Someone broke into that safe and removed a page from a particular document without any of us knowing – that takes intelligence and planning. They had to have the wit to think of copying the document. The only reason they would remove it entirely is if _they didn't want us to know what was in it._"

Toshio and I both stared at her in stunned silence.

"How do you make _that_ out?" he said at last.

"And how could they even have known I was going to come here?" I said. "If I hadn't asked about that file, it would have just stayed in the safe and no-one would ever have looked at it."

"Well, _did_ you tell anyone you were coming here?" said Karen.

"Only Miaka. I had to," I added hastily, seeing that Karen was giving me a look. "She was desperate. She was going out of her mind with worry about this Anzu girl. I had to let her see that I was doing _something_."

"And would Miaka have told anyone?"

I sighed.

"Well, she's probably told the rest of the games club – it isn't exactly a secret. But surely, the burglary couldn't have been this morning, not with the whole family at home..."

"No, it couldn't," Toshio snapped. "Though I still refuse to believe there has been a burglary at all. This house has a lot more security than just the safe."

"Then perhaps we should be looking for someone within the family," said Karen.

"I'm glad we agree on that much at least," said Toshio. "And I think I know exactly where to look."

"Oh, not this again," said Karen. "You can go on suspecting me as long as you like – I'm going to look for the real traitor."

"Traitor?" Toshio said with contempt. "You're making far too much of this. Okay, _if_ you're right then someone got past our security, and that's worrying, but at least all they were interested in was this girl's details. It's probably just one of her classmates in Kyoto who has a crush on her."

It was my turn to snap. I don't know how it happened; it just came out of nowhere.

"How can you think such a thing?" I said, rounding on him. "There _must_ be something deeper going on, and someone doesn't want us to get to the truth of it."

Karen gave me an appreciative smile. It was quite unnerving.

"Well, maybe," Toshio said wearily. "I tell you what. Instead of standing here arguing in circles, why don't you two go and find out who this mysterious intruder was?"

"Exactly what I was about to suggest," said Karen. "Akito-kun, a few words with you in private."

We left the room together and headed back along the corridor. When we bumped into Uncle Saburou, I bowed and thanked him for his hospitality, and he smiled gravely and said I was welcome at any time. Karen took me to the door, and we walked slowly down the drive together.

"Do you have any plans?" she said after a while.

"Plans?"

"For investigating."

I grimaced. "I don't really know what to do, Karen-chan," I said. "Besides, I have school this week, and we're busy getting ready for the Watanagashi festival..."

"Exactly," said Karen. "_That's_ what you can do."

"What do you mean?"

"Cousin Shion is overseeing the preparations for Watanagashi, isn't she?"

"Of course."

"And she's at the centre of what goes on in Hinamizawa. This involves her in some way, you can count on that."

"_Karen!_ That's my mother you're talking about, you know!"

She laughed. "Hey now, I didn't say that _she_ was the enemy. It might someone plotting against her, or against the family."

"Yes – and where does that get us?"

Karen's voice dropped to an ominous whisper. "I want you to observe, Akito-kun," she said. "You and your friends have a privileged position at the centre of events. And you're children. You can observe without being observed. Watch everything that happens, and don't let a single detail escape you, You never know what may turn out to be a vital clue."

"You want me to spy on my mother?"

"Not on _her_," Karen said impatiently. "On what's going on in Hinamizawa. On what _everyone_ is doing – Mion, Rika-sama, Irie-sensei, that old fool Yanagida, even your friends. The more we know, the easier it will be to put it together and work out what it all means. Do you understand?"

I took a deep breath. "I understand."

"Good," she said with a grin. "Then you've taken the first step to becoming a ninja. I congratulate you."

We had reached the gate out onto the road by this time. I turned round to ask Karen what she meant, but she had vanished like a petal in the wind.


	55. Part IV Ch 4 A Day in My Life

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**4  
>A Day in My Life<br>**

Monday, the ninth of June. I woke with the first rays of the rising sun, and yawned and lifted myself out of bed. I'm not normally this good at rising early, but today I had a job to get done.

Not that I had any idea how I was going to go about it.

_Watch_, Karen had said. But what? Surely she didn't literally mean that I was to watch and report on everything that happened. Even in the Sonozaki family, the rituals of getting out of bed and ready for the day are not especially interesting – just part of the life that we share with every other human being. But – I felt that if I relaxed now and started letting time go past without making observations, I would find it too easy to slip into the habit later, and the day would pass by with nothing achieved, just like when I get up determined to work on a homework assignment. So I decided that, for one day at least, I really would observe _everything_.

There are three bathrooms in the house: one for my parents and Aunt Mion; one for the servants; one for me and Kotone. And since my sister would still be fast asleep, I would not meet anyone until I came down for breakfast. So I just got myself washed and dressed, the same as usual. There was a splatter of blood clinging to the rim of the basin – I supposed Kotone had cut herself last night and not told anyone, thinking that was the brave thing to do. Silly girl.

I came down to find Aunt Mion alone in the dining room, sitting by the window as she waited for the rest of the family. "Good morning," I said.

"Good morning."

She didn't look up. She was rocking gently back and forth, as if half-asleep, staring at her hands as she held them clenched in her lap. I knew what she was thinking about. She gets like this around this time every year.

Still, I had to do my best to start a conversation.

"Any plans for today, Aunt Mion?"

"Huh?" She looked up as if she'd only just noticed me. "Oh yes. I have to go into Okinomiya. I'll probably be out for most of the day."

"You don't sound very excited about it," I said. "So, I deduce it must be family business?"

Mother would have rewarded my little joke with a wry chuckle at least. Mion just nodded.

"Sorting out the accounts," she said. "I swear sometimes, this family is like a boat that springs a new leak every time you fix the last one."

"There isn't a problem, is there?"

"Nothing your Aunt Mion can't handle." A smile broke through, and just for a moment, she looked as she must have looked back in the old days, when she was the games club's original fearless leader.

Then Kotone came in, and greeted us both with a warm smile, as cheerful and oblivious as always. She wears you out sometimes – but then, you can't help but notice how the air seems to radiate happiness when she's been in a room for a while.

"Hey, big brother," she said. "Got a good game for us today?"

I shook my head. "We have to help set things up at the shrine, remember?"

"Oh yeah." She clapped her hands. "It's going to be awesome this year! Now that we have Miaka-chan with us, we can have even more fun than usual!"

"Yeah, it'll be great fun," I said. "Just take care that you don't wear Rika-sama out."

Kotone pouted. "As if I would! Rika-sama likes me, anyway."

"Yeah, but I don't know how long that'll last once you and Kichi start smashing the place up, so be careful."

Kotone gave me one of her fiendish scowls that showed me she wasn't angry at all. "You're _horrible_, big brother."

"Yeah, that's my job," I retorted.

* * *

><p>We set off for school. The days were getting hotter and drier, which somehow only seemed to make Kotone more energetic; but once we'd picked up Kizuna, at least the two of them could look after each other for a while. When we reached the school, I let the two of them go in ahead of me, just in case Saki had set up one of her pranks. It was Monday, after all, and she gets itchy fingers after a day off.<p>

My intuition was on the mark this time. Kizuna crashed through the door, and was met with a chalk duster that fell onto her, covering her face and hair with white dust. She turned round so that Kotone could get a good view, and both of them at once burst into hysterical laughter.

Once they had run off to get Kizuna cleaned up, I followed them into the room and looked round. It seemed a bit odd that I hadn't heard Saki's raucous laughter as soon as her prank had come off.

Saki was in her seat, gazing out of the window. I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Good morning."

She made no response.

"Are you okay?"

"Tired."

"Didn't you sleep well?"

She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. I shared a baffled glance with Tomita Eiko.

"Saki-chan's been having nightmares," Eiko whispered. She looked nervously at Saki as she said this, but Saki paid her no attention.

"Is that true, Saki-chan?" I said.

"Yeah. Kinda. It's just... I don't know. I keep having this dream about being in a dark room, and there's a noise, like someone opening a door, and I know something bad is going to happen..." Her voice trailed off.

I left her and sat down. What was there to say? Saki's at an age where she still gets easily frightened, but she would never admit to it, so there was no point in discussing it with her.

Miaka greeted me with a smile as I sat down. Aunt Mion had placed her next to me on her first day, and she seemed happy enough with the arrangment. I don't know whether she's just being polite, or whether she actually likes me. I wish I did know. But I can't ask.

"How are you, Akito-kun?" she said. "You look very thoughtful."

"Do I? I feel exhausted. It's the effect of walking up to school with Kotone."

She gave my arm a gentle squeeze. But as soon as I looked round, she drew her hand away again.

"Don't you walk up with Naoya-kun, then?"

"No, he lives on the opposite side of the village." And – although I didn't say this – it's most unlike him to be the last to arrive. He was normally as regular as clockwork.

Then I heard the outer door open, and relaxed again. Naoya was here before the start of class, and the settled order of things was restored.

But it wasn't Naoya. It was Mother (and it really was her this time, not Aunt Mion). I frowned. Was Naoya ill? I hadn't seen any signs of it yesterday. And surely, if he was, he would have sent me a text about it by now?

Anyway, we got on with the day's lessons, and there really is no point in telling you about that, because they were exactly the same as on every other day. As soon as I got a free moment, I stealthily got out my phone under the desk and sent a message to Naoya – "Where the hell are you?" There was no reply.

Then, at lunchtime, just as we were all pushing the tables together and getting out our bentou boxes, there was the unmistakable noise of a bicycle arriving outside, and we all looked up as Naoya came panting into the room. I knew at once that he'd had a longer and more strenuous journey than just the little trip from his house – his face was flushed bright red and he was struggling to hold himself upright.

"Naoya-kun!" Saki called out. "We were starting to think you'd been spirited away by the demons!"

"No such luck," said Naoya. "Sorry I'm late, sensei –"

"Four hours late," said Mother. "Where have you been?"

Naoya gulped. I knew how he must be feeling – that awkwardness when you don't want to answer a question, but you know that not answering will only make things worse. Mother, like all the Sonozakis, was an experting in instilling that feeling. Even when she wasn't armed with the family's special patent fingernail-remover.

"In Okinomiya," he said. "I had some business to attend to."

"On a school day?"

"It was urgent." Naoya made a polite bow. "I'm sorry."

Mother glared at him. "'Sorry' isn't good enough. You can't just go skipping school like that –"

And then something happened that shocked us all. Naoya turned away from her in mid-tirade and pulled out a chair.

"Sometimes you have to," he said. He sat down with a heavy thump.

"Ryuuguu Naoya-kun, if you think you can just –"

"Yes, I do," he said. "You're a Sonozaki; you must know there are some commitments that come even before school."

And, for once, Mother could think of nothing more to say.

"Naoya-kun?" I said in an awed whisper once she had gone. "What _is_ going on?"

"I'm sorry, Akito-kun," he said. "I can't tell you."

"You can tell us. We're your friends."

"I know," Naoya said sadly. "But this is something I can't share."

I shot him a dark glance, but he ignored me and got on with his lunch.

* * *

><p>The rest of the school day passed without incident. As soon as the final bell sounded, I called the club members together, and reminded them that, every day this week, we were going to the shrine to help Rika-sama with preparations for the Watanagashi festival. Or rather, to help her husband Suguru – Rika-sama couldn't take much of an active role herself this year, as she had a baby due in another month or so.<p>

Kizuna, naturally, needed no reminding; she and Kotone raced out of the room ahead of us, bubbling over with excitement. Certainly, it was the thought of the festival itself more than the work that excited them – but as we never make them work very hard, they don't draw a sharp distinction between the two.

Saki, on the other hand, still looked under a cloud.

"What's wrong?" I said. "This isn't like you, Saki-chan. You'd normally be just as energetic as those two –"

"I'm tired," she grunted. "Stop complaining."

"You know, if you keep having these nightmares, maybe you should talk to Irie-sensei –"

"I don't want to talk about it." She picked up her bag and strode away.

Huh. So that's all three of them acting weird. What the hell is going on?

I fell into step beside Miaka as we walked to the shrine.

"Are you okay?" I said. "Not been having any more visions of the future?"

"Don't make fun, Akito-kun," she said gently. "It was terrifying."

"You seem in much better spirits today, though."

"Yeah." She pulled a face. "I'm really sorry I upset everyone, Akito-kun. Especially getting the waitresses upset. I hope they won't stop you going there again."

"Of course not. My family owns the place, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." She sighed, and then smiled again. "Well, it was just a silly thing. I don't know how it happened – like having a nightmare in the middle of the day, I guess. Maybe the result of too much maths."

"So you don't think it was a vision of the future?"

She laughed. "Of course not!"

"You seemed to be quite sure of it at the time –"

"I was just in shock, all right?" She nudged me. "Come on, you don't really believe in visions of the future, do you? That's just superstitious nonsense."

I frowned. "Miaka-chan, I'd be careful what you say in this village."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Yanagida, the priest of the Akiba Shrine, is a little crazy. He's always saying that Oyashiro-sama's curse is going to strike again. He regards himself as the true priest of Oyashiro-sama, and Rika-sama as a fake – and he's trying to use the threat of the curse to turn people against her."

"Well, it sounds like that's just crazy talk."

"I think so too, but he has a number of devoted followers. So you should be careful – we don't want to start a confrontation."

"Why is he threatening Rika-sama?" said Miaka. "What does he hope to get out of it?"

"No idea," I said. "I think he's just a crackpot who genuinely believes Oyashiro-sama is speaking through him. Which, of course, makes him very dangerous."

But Yanagida wasn't there to bother us that day. Suguru welcomed us and got us busy. Miaka and Saki were assigned the task of setting up tables; Naoya and I were told to move boxes.

"We need more plates," Miaka said after we'd been working for an hour.

"I'll go and borrow some from the Manor," I said.

"Shall I come with you?"

"No, it's okay." Normally I would have been glad of the chance to spend some time alone with Miaka, even if it meant fighting a battle with the temptation to just take her in my arms and kiss her – no, I mustn't even think about that! Well, there would be plenty more time to spend together still. But I had a reason for wanting to go back to the Manor on my own. I wanted to talk to Aunt Mion.

I found her in Grandfather's office, looking through the filing cabinets. She jumped as I entered the room, and then relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Got a guilty secret?" I said with a grin. "Sorry, Aunt Mion. We need to borrow some more plates for the Watanagashi festival."

"Well then, take them from the kitchen. You don't need my permission."

"No, but I thought I'd drop in and say hello. How has your day been?"

"Fine. Akito-kun, I'm a little busy right now..."

I slipped into the room and shut the door.

"I promise I won't disturb you for long, Aunt Mion. But I need to know something. Did you see Naoya-kun in town today?"

She blinked. "How did you know that?"

"I just knew you and he were both in Okinomiya today, so I wondered if he was there to meet you."

"Oh, I see." She looked puzzled. "No. I just happened to see him go past when I was in the Old Oak. He didn't see me."

"He just went past outside?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

I kept my tone casual. I had to let her think it was a matter of no importance, that I wasn't asking her to give Naoya's secrets away.

"Was he with anyone?"

"Yes, a woman. I didn't recognise her."

I blinked. That was certainly not the answer I had expected.

"A woman? You mean a girl?"

"No, a woman. I'd say she was around sixty."

"And you'd definitely never seen her before?"

"Who knows? I didn't recognise her," Mion said impatiently.

"Okay."

I nodded and got out of the room fast, my head in a whirl.

Naoya and I never really talked about the subject, but I'd never have imagined that he went for older women. Of course, he's so shy that it's hard to imagine him having a girlfriend at all; but when we're in Angel Mort together he's just as keen to watch the girls as I am. So, this was unlikely to be a romantic interlude. But what else could be so important that he would sneak away in secret to meet this woman? Who was she? And what could this possibly have to do with the details of Miaka's parents, and a plot to murder Guren Anzu?

As I put the plates together, I tried to work it all out. One possibility was that she was just a distant relative paying a visit. Naoya's mother was a Hinamizawa native, I remembered, but his father had come from... was it Ibaraki? They might well have relatives out there whom Mion wouldn't recognise. But there _had_ to be more to it than that. If this woman was nothing more than his father's cousin or something, then why all the secrecy? Why couldn't Naoya just _tell_ me that she was visiting?

Well, if she was actually staying at their house, then it would be easy enough to find out; if she was in Okinomiya, it would be a little harder, but I could find an excuse to go there some time during the week. So I put the matter out of my mind for the moment, took the plates back to the shrine, and got on with our work.

After dinner, I read Kotone a bedtime story, and then went round to the Ryuuguus' house. I'm always welcome there. Naoya's mother, Rumiko, was the village schoolteacher when Aunt Mion, Aunt Satoko and Rika-sama were all kids, and she's remained good friends with our families ever since.

Rumiko let me in, and went to fetch Naoya. While she was gone, I took the opportunity to have a little look around. There were three pairs of outdoor shoes in the usual place – no fourth person was in the house at the moment, then. I wandered into the living room. It's much cosier and more intimate than ours. But Naoya's father, Yutaka, has the room decorated with family photos, so that I always feel conscious of being an outsider. And many of the photos are of Rena, his daughter from his first marriage, who died fifteen years ago. I find it rather creepy, the way he keeps them up after so many years. But different people have different ways of coping with death, I suppose. For some people, taking down those photos would be unbearable – it would be like cutting the person out of their memory. And Rena was one of Mion's close friends, and from what I've heard, she was a sweet person who always looked out for others. It was understandable that he would want to remember her. I could certainly tell from the photos that she had been a beautiful girl – she had stunning red hair and a lovely warm smile.

Naoya came down just then, and we went up to his room and discussed homework for a while. I saw nothing out of the ordinary, in his room or the rest of the house. On my way out, I found Yutaka in the living room, reading a book. I greeted him and asked him how he was getting on, whether he was managing to keep himself occupied in his retirement, whether he was having plenty of visitors. He said that he was doing okay, and they had not had any visitors in the house that year at all.

It was almost eleven o'clock by the time I got home, and there was school the next day, so I went straight to bed.

One whole day gone. And, as far as I could see, I'd found out precisely nothing at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

With this chapter, _Return to Hinamizawa_ has reached 225,000 words, one quarter of my estimate for the total length of 900,000. That figure is just a guess based on what I know of the story to come, and not a target I'm trying to reach – if it were, I would have gone for the more glamorous figure of one million. (And perhaps I should revise the estimate downwards; my subsequent narrators have all turned out to be less prolix than Tolkien fangirl Miaka.)

It's a little daunting to realise just how far there is to go. But I've kept the story going through the roughest phase of my life; I'm certainly not going to give up now that things are finally starting to get better. I'm very grateful to my readers for being so patient, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the journey!


	56. Part IV Ch 5 A Glass to the Awful Truth

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**5  
>A Glass to the Awful Truth<strong>

The next day passed in much the same manner: first school, then a trip to the shrine to carry on with setting things up for the festival. And again, as soon as something came up that gave me an excuse to leave the others for a while, I hurried off, glad of the chance to slip away. I had made up my mind: I needed to be more active in my investigation. I'm not a great reader, but Naoya has a stash of detective novels from way back – I think they used to belong to Keiichi. And sometimes when we were together and he insisted on getting his homework out, I'd flick through one of them to pass the time. So I knew that the way to move an investigation forwards is to _ask questions_.

And who was the first person I should ask? Whatever Karen may say, there was someone even closer to the centre of what went on in Hinamizawa than Mother. And that person was also at the heart of the mystery of the events of twenty years ago. I mean, of course, our village priestess, Furude Rika-sama.

I found her where I expected to find her: in the outer sanctum, sitting on the floor in a state of peaceful meditation. At this time any other year, she would have been bustling around with everyone else, overseeing things so that everyone felt welcome, there was always tea and lemonade on hand, and the job took twice as long to finish as it might have done. But this year, she was in the last stages of pregnancy, and had to stay away from all the bustle. It must have been irksome, for someone who enjoyed socialising as much as she did.

So, when Rika looked up and smiled as I came in, I knew that she was genuinely glad to see me. I felt a sudden pang of guilt. I really should have looked in on her sooner, and without any ulterior motive. We could have made it a club activity, to take it in turns to visit so that she had some company each day. Still – I was here now, and that had to count for something, right?

I gave a nervous cough and closed the door behind me.

"Good afternoon, Akito-kun. I hope Suguru isn't working you too hard?"

"Not at all," I said quickly. "Actually, Rika-sama, I came to ask if there was anything special I could do for _you_. A cup of tea, perhaps?"

She smiled. "Thank you, Akito-kun. That would be lovely."

I went to the kitchen to get the tea ready. By the time I returned, Rika had settled herself comfortably on a nest of cushions. I bowed and knelt on the floor at a polite distance.

Rika sipped the tea appreciatively. Mother made sure that I learned how to make tea from an early age, so that she could always count on me to make a good cup for her friends.

"I hope you're feeling well, Rika-sama?" I said.

"About as well as can be expected," she replied. "It's no easy task, to bear such a burden."

"But you must be excited that the baby is coming soon."

"It will be a huge relief," said Rika.

"I can imagine," I laughed.

"Can you really?" she said gently. "I wonder. You know, I sometimes feel like I've been carrying this baby for _years_."

We both laughed together at that idea.

"Was it like this when Kizuna was born?" I said.

Rika shook her head. "No, things were very different then. I felt like I'd lost all hope, in those years of Oyashiro-sama's curse. I was sure I would never get to grow up and have children of my own. So, when I found out that I was pregnant... well, it was like being _alive_ again. I loved every moment of it."

There was a brief silence as I wondered where to go from there. It had to sound natural – but it also had to lead up to the questions I wanted to have answered.

"Rika-sama," I said cautiously, "are you worried about Yanagida at all? I mean, his prediction that the curse of Oyashiro-sama will strike again?"

"It won't," Rika said at once.

"You seem very confident."

"Well, you see... I _know_ Oyashiro-sama, better than Yanagida does, though I don't mean to sound like I'm boasting about it. She is a gentle god who loves her people, and would never put a curse on her enemies."

I paused. At a moment like this, timing is everything.

"So," I said, looking Rika straight in the eyes, "does that mean the deaths and disappearances twenty years ago were not Oyashiro-sama's doing either?"

There was silence – except for the noises that still came from outside, the others rushing around and chanting and shrieking. Those noises seemed to come from another world now. I was alone with Rika, and she was gently sobbing, as if trying to create a wall of tears to seal herself off from me. I crossed the room and took her teacup before she spilt it all on the floor.

"Akito-kun," she said at last, "please don't be angry with me. I've been a very foolish woman."

"I'm not angry," I said. "But I have to know the truth. For Miaka's sake."

"Miaka?" Rika seemed genuinely puzzled. "How does she come into it?"

I checked to make sure the door was firmly closed.

"She's been acting strangely, ever since we went to Angel Mort on Saturday. Talking nonsense about a murder that's going to happen. I mean, she thinks it's going to happen. Not that I believe in predestination or anything like that." I bowed my head. "Rika-sama, I just don't know what to believe any more."

"Oh, my precious child," said Rika.

I knelt before her.

"Akito-kun..."

She started to rise, then realised that was too much effort, and sank onto the cushions again.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, you're quite right. You should know the truth."

I waited for a long time.

"Oh dear," she said with a wry chuckle. "I'm so sorry. Even now when I've made up my mind, it's not easy to bring the words out when I've kept them hidden for so long."

"But, Rika-sama... _why?_"

"We couldn't agree on when would be the right time. This was all before you were born, and as we slowly watched you growing up into a man... how could we know when you were old enough to learn the truth?"

"I'm old enough now," I said quietly.

"Are you sure?" said Rika. "We would be placing a heavy burden on you. The same burden we have borne all these years. Kotone is still too young. But one day, _you_ will have to decide when the time is right to tell her."

It was not a difficult decision. Perhaps I should have deliberated for longer; but really, my mind had been made up already before I entered the room. I couldn't let Karen down; I couldn't just go away and pretend this hadn't happened, not after getting this close; and more than anything else, I had to do this for Miaka.

"I'm willing to take the burden, Rika-sama," I said.

"Very well." She sighed. "You'd better settle down. It's going to be a long story."

I arranged myself on the floor, and waited.

"So, where shall we start? You know, of course, what Hinamizawa Syndrome is."

"Yes."

"We didn't, back then. Irie-sensei was investigating behind the scenes, but that was top-secret research. There was no cure, and if word got out that the village was harbouring such a deadly disease... there were factions that would have pressed for Hinamizawa to be wiped out as an emergency measure."

I gazed at her, wide-eyed. I had no doubt that she really was telling me the truth at last.

"Then... there was an incident. A construction worker on the dam project succumbed to the Syndrome, and murdered the manager. And it had to be covered up. They said that the worker had disappeared. In fact, he was taken to the clinic, and dissected for analysis."

"_What?_"

Rika shuddered. "Believe me, Akito-kun, it was for the best. There was no way he could have been saved, once he'd reached that stage. And Irie-sensei needed the data. It was worth a sacrifice..."

"How can you be sure?" I couldn't help saying. "You can't know how things would have turned out. Maybe Irie-sensei would have developed the cure anyway..."

"Maybe. We can never be sure." She let out a long sigh. "I think you can see now why we didn't want to tell you all this until you were ready."

I nodded. "I'm ready now, Rika-sama. I promise."

"Thank you, Akito-kun... but I'm afraid it gets worse. You know that Satoko's parents died in the incident the following year."

"And you're going to say that was also the Syndrome –"

"Yes. An innocent person with a gentle soul, who would never have killed under normal circumstances, lost her mind just as your friend Miaka did..."

"Miaka..." Something clicked. "No way. You're not saying it was _Satoko_..."

"She wasn't to blame," Rika said gently.

"No." I sat very still as I tried to take all this in. "No, I see that now."

"You do, now that you've met Miaka and understand a little of what it's like to fall under the grip of the Syndrome. You wouldn't have been able to accept it before now, would you?"

I closed my eyes. "I'm sorry, Rika-sama. You're right."

"I'm sorry too, Akito-kun," she said softly. "I'm sorry too. It's been so painful, to watch you and Naoya and Saki growing up, and to have to keep our secrets back from you. Even now... I don't know what Shion-chan would say, if she knew I was telling you all this. But you are right. You are ready for it."

There was a long silence. I knew what was coming next, and I knew why Rika still found it hard to go on with her story. But I had to know.

"Rika-sama?" I said at last. "What about _your_ parents?"

The colour drained from her face in an instant, and I saw her as she must have looked as a frightened child, facing a hostile world with no knowledge that she would one day reach a happy ending.

I almost wished I hadn't asked. But I _had_ to know!

"She killed them. Takano killed them."

"Takano?" It took me a few moments to place the name. "The nurse who disappeared in the fifth year?"

"Yes. And now I think you can work out for yourself the rest of the story."

"Father," I said at once. "He came down with the Syndrome in the fourth year, didn't he? That's why he disappeared. But he survived..."

"Yes, he survived," said Rika. "He was kept in a coma in a secret level under the clinic, for more than a year, until Irie-sensei finally managed to synthesise a cure for the Syndrome."

And if I could have seen my own face just then, I probably looked just as terrified as Rika had.

"Irie-sensei... all this time, it was _him_..."

"Please don't be angry with him," said Rika. "You must realise, by that time it was impossible for us to admit the truth. It would have ruined Irie-sensei's reputation. And we _needed_ him. He was the only one who had any knowledge of the disease. He might be all that stands between us and another outbreak."

"Another... you mean Miaka-chan?"

"We are very concerned. There has never been a case of the disease outside Hinamizawa, up until now. Even if Miaka turns out to be an isolated case, we _must_ know how it came about – so that we can prevent another outbreak. Kyoto is much larger than Hinamizawa. The thought is terrifying."

I looked up at Rika, now with a new understanding. She was quiet and calm, as always, but now I saw that she was only just holding herself together.

"Is it likely?" I said. "An outbreak in Kyoto, I mean?"

"We do not know. Irie-sensei has been working non-stop, ever since we learned of Miaka's case, trying to evaluate the evidence and understand."

I moved closer and touched her hand. "We'll get through this, Rika-sama. We have the treatment now."

"We do," said Rika. "But that isn't really what I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?"

"If the public becomes fearful of the prospect of an outbreak of Hinamizawa Syndrome... well, the consequences could be just as bad as if an outbreak actually happened."

I thought about this for a moment.

"Yes, I see what you mean."

"I knew you would understand. And so we have to do our best to look after Miaka-chan. And that duty falls especially on you, Akito-kun. You are the leader of the club... and, forgive me if this is too presumptuous, but I think I am right in saying that you are especially close to her."

I squirmed.

"I don't know about that," I said. "I swear, I don't understand that girl. She's suddenly started behaving very strangely... but it isn't just her. Naoya-kun, Saki-chan... it's like there's something wrong and everyone can sense it except me. I don't know whether I'm just getting paranoid, or..." I jumped in sudden alarm. "Rika-sama, do you think _I'm_ getting the Hinamizawa Syndrome? Maybe I caught it from Miaka..."

"Akito-kun, please don't make jokes about that."

"It's not a joke," I said. "I just don't know what to make of the world any more. It's like everything I thought I knew has just been turned upside-down..."

"I understand," she said. "But keep up your courage. We _will_ get through this."

Another long silence.

"Rika-sama," I said, "what _other_ secrets are people keeping from me?"

She shook her head.

"I'm going to find out," I said. "You said yourself that it was time for me to be told the truth."

"I can't be responsible for everyone's secrets, Akito-kun."

"So Karen was right," I said. "There _is_ something else. Something is going on that you all know about and you're keeping it from us..."

Rika shook her head.

"Everyone has secrets, Akito-kun. Most of them are just silly little things... they have no meaning in the big picture, but we would feel uncomfortable if we knew people knew about them. You can understand that, can't you?" She smiled. "After all, you have a few secrets of your own, don't you?"

I couldn't look her in the eyes just then.

"Thank you for the tea, Akito-kun. I don't mean to be rude, but we have been talking for a long time, and I need to rest..."

"And I need to get back to the others," I said. "If they start to think I came in here just to get away from working... well, they won't be leaving you in peace for the rest of the week."

Rika laughed. She has such a merry laugh – whatever else is going on, that laugh always warms you up inside, reminding you that you are a good person for bringing cheer like that to the world.

"Goodbye, then, Akito-kun."

"Goodbye." I bowed. "And thank you, Rika-sama."

"You are glad, then, that I told you those things?"

"Yes," I said quietly. "I can't deny that it hurts a bit... but it's good to know the truth at last."

"Then I am glad," she said. "The truth is a precious gift, Akito-kun. Make sure you use it wisely."

* * *

><p>I left the room, deep in thought. Clearly, Rika's last words were a warning to be careful whom I trusted with the knowledge I had just gained. My first instinct – as always when I found out something new and exciting – was to share it at once with Naoya. But now I hesitated. <em>Could<em> I trust him with something as big as this? He had begun to keep secrets from me. He was meeting this mysterious woman, who might be an agent either for good or evil, and he had outright refused to tell the club members about her, even when it was painfully obvious he had a secret.

How well did I really know him?

I shook my head. That was the one thing I had to avoid at all costs – allowing my suspicions to deepen into paranoia. We had to trust in our bonds of friendship, as Kizuna would have said: they were our best defence against the Hinamizawa Syndrome. Once we began to doubt each other, there was no telling where it would end.

And yet... _could_ I trust him with the truth about Father and Aunt Satoko? He would be cut up because he couldn't tell Saki, and she was _definitely_ too young.

I sighed. I had, indeed, found out a lot that I didn't know before. But none of it was what Karen had told me to investigate; I was still no closer to finding out why Miaka thought there was going to be a murder, or who removed the files from Toshio's safe.

I didn't feel much like rejoining the others. Even though the evening was beginning to descend, at this time of year it was still bright, and Kotone and Kizuna were gambolling around like bunnies in a field. I couldn't go back to them, not now that I knew what I knew. I couldn't look Saki in the eyes without remembering what I had just learned about her mother; and if I avoided eye contact and kept myself to myself, _they_ would start thinking that _I_ was acting strangely, and then...

I excused myself by complaining of a headache, and went home.

Rika was right. Just learning about the Hinamizawa Syndrome was a poison in itself.

* * *

><p>I wandered around in the garden for a while. Damn it, I missed my friends, especially when I knew that they were all having fun without me! Even working for Suguru under the hot summer sun would have felt like a treat, just so long as we were together, sipping lemonade with Miaka while the little kids scampered around us. I hated being alone.<p>

Then there was a creak as the garden gate opened, and I realised that I was not alone any more.

Tomitake Jirou came striding up the path towards me, his camera swinging on a loose strap at his side. He's an old friend of the family. He lives in Tokushima, but he always visits Hinamizawa in June to photograph the festival. So, while I wouldn't say that we were friends exactly, we were at least pleased to see each other.

"Akito-kun, good evening." We bowed to each other.

"How are things going, Tomitake-san?"

He came closer so that we could talk more easily. "Things are going very well, thank you. Kumiko and I are planning to get married this year, and I'm afraid I shall have to settle down at last."

I grinned. "I'm sure she'll let you come and visit us occasionally."

"Yes, and I shall have to bring her with me next year. She's never seen Hinamizawa, but she's very excited about getting to see the place."

I didn't ask him why she wasn't here with him this year. As Rika would have said, everyone has secrets.

"You'll always be welcome," I said. It wasn't exactly my place to say it, but I knew that was how all my family felt about him.

"Thank you," said Tomitake.

"You never thought about settling down here?"

He gave a melancholy smile. "Kumiko wouldn't like that. She's a big city girl – she likes to visit the country, but she'd get bored if she had to live here."

"I suppose so." I lapsed into silence. How could I tell him how his words were making me feel? Of course I was thinking about Miaka. She was also a city girl; she seemed to be enjoying her holiday in Hinamizawa, but... wait, what was I thinking? We were just friends. _And that's all we'll ever be. In three weeks' time she'll go home to Kyoto, and that will be all I'll ever see of her. I mean, maybe we'll keep in touch, but it'll never be the same. And she's such a beautiful girl, there must be plenty of boys in Kyoto who would fall in love with her. Face it, Akito, you don't have a chance._

I needed to distract myself from these thoughts. I turned back to Tomitake and asked, "Is there anything particular you came here for?" – meaning here to the Manor, not to Hinamizawa.

He nodded. "Yes, actually." He glanced around, as though checking we were not being overheard. "To be honest, Akito-kun... I came here to talk to _you_."


	57. Part IV Ch 6 In Time of Peace

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<br>**

For some reason, the birth name of Mion and Shion's father has given me more trouble than any other name in the story. After two changes already, I have now decided to change the name to _Misora_, so I will go back and edit this name in the few places where it occurs earlier. This chapter (finally!) introduces the other members of the Misora family, so it was important to make a final decision at this point.

These should be the last large group of new characters to be introduced in the story.

* * *

><p><strong>6<br>In Time of Peace, Prepare for War  
><strong>

I waited, but Tomitake seemed reluctant to speak. I gestured towards the back of the garden, to ask him if he wanted to go somewhere with more privacy, and he nodded. So we went together to a little shed that nestled among the trees. It was quiet and secluded: a good place to go when you wanted to be alone. Somehow, there seemed to be a mournful air about it, as if the last person to sit there had been very unhappy. I shook my head and shrugged such thoughts away.

"So, what is it?" I said as we sat down.

I could feel my stomach lurch. It was rare enough for Tomitake to want to talk to me, and for this to come so close on top of everything with Miaka and my conversation with Rika – there would definitely be a connection, and after what I had just learned, I wasn't sure I was ready for even more revelations.

Tomitake's first words took me entirely by surprise.

"I want to ask your permission to do some exploring in the Labyrinth."

"Why on earth?" I said at once. Then a thought struck me, and I added, "And isn't it Mother you should be asking?"

Tomitake sighed. "Let's just say I'd rather she didn't find out about this."

He was studiously avoiding my eyes. I glared at him.

"So you want to spy on Mother without her knowing? You had better have a good reason for this."

"Akito-kun, please. I don't want to spy on anyone. But I need to find some things out... and I don't want to alarm your mother, and I especially don't want to alarm Sonozaki Mion-san."

"Aunt Mion? What do you mean?"

"Sonozaki Mion is a very old friend of mine. You know what happened to her all those years ago and how it's affected her. I don't want to do anything that would cause her further pain."

I nodded. Mion never took part in the Watanagashi festival, because it was around this time of year that the Kanahebi, a terrorist group, had set off a bomb in Tokyo University, killing her friends Keiichi and Rena.

"So this involves the Kanahebi?" I asked.

It was just a guess, and I hadn't expected to get lucky on my first shot, but Tomitake nodded.

"Tomitake-san," I said, "you will have to explain this."

He got up and went outside for a moment, then returned to his seat. Double-checking that we were not being overheard, I assumed. Though I knew that Karen, for one, would have had no difficulty in avoiding his notice if she wanted to.

"They're on my trail," said Tomitake. "To be quite frank, Akito-kun, I'm walking a tightrope here, and they may trip me up any moment now. Funny that this should happen so close to the Watanagashi. It would certainly suit them to have me disappear on that day. It would fuel the local superstition surrounding the festival, and get Yanagida worked up, and draw attention away from them for a while."

I shuddered. "Tomitake-san, you're not really serious, are you?"

"Sorry, Akito-kun..."

"You insist on all this secrecy because you don't want to alarm Mother, but you're certainly alarming me!"

He looked away again. "Yeah. I'm sorry, kid. But I had to tell someone."

At the same time, I can't help admitting I felt a kind of pride that he had chosen me to confide in.

"Why would they want to erase you, Tomitake-san?"

"Because I think I'm close to finding something big. Something so big, it could mean the outbreak of war."

"You're crazy..."

"I wish. But the closer I get to it, the more I feel sure that there's a _big_ secret behind all the recent mysterious occurrences."

"Tomitake-san!"

He looked round, and I scowled at him.

"If you want to tell me about this, then don't be so cryptic. _What_ mysterious occurrences?"

"All right," said Tomitake. "Let's go back to the very beginning. I understand from Rika-sama that she's told you the truth about the disappearances that took place in the years of Oyashiro-sama's curse."

I nodded. "I thought that might have something to do with this."

"Yes, that helped me make up my mind. All right. But did she tell you what happened immediately after?"

"No..."

"Takano-san was taken to the Irie Clinic for treatment. Unfortunately, the very next day, a fire broke out in the basement level, which is... um..." His voice trailed off.

"I know about my father being imprisoned there, if that's what you mean," I said coldly.

"Don't look at me like that, Akito-kun, please."

"Just get on with the story. There was a fire?"

Tomitake nodded. "Shion-san was visiting Satoshi-san when the fire broke out, and he's very lucky she was there. She got him out – but Takano didn't make it. And neither did Nomura Kaho."

"Who?"

"An associate of Takano's. It's hard not to draw the obvious conclusion. As soon as Takano was no longer useful to their plans, once she had fallen into our hands, they ordered Nomura to erase her. But after she set the fire, she ran into Shion and panicked. She tried to kill Shion. But, as you can imagine, she was not the defenceless teenager she appeared."

I grinned.

"But the result was that the basement level was almost destroyed. Do you see what's odd about that?"

I considered this for a while.

"Presumably Father and Takano-san weren't being kept in the same room. So this Nomura person must have got past your security and got the chance to be alone with Takano. If she just wanted her dead, she could easily have killed her. So why start a fire?"

"Exactly."

"And you think this organisation –"

"Tokyo, as they called themselves."

"There was something else they wanted destroyed. And, if you're telling me this story now... I'm going to guess they failed to destroy it. And now the Kanahebi are after it."

"You're too good at this."

"How long have you known about this?" I snapped. "If this is true, then we're all in danger!"

Tomitake shook his head quickly. "I'm not certain about it, even now."

"Yeah. It sounds too much like leaping to conclusions to me."

"But those conclusions are getting stronger. It's the best explanation that fits everything together."

"Everything that you still haven't told me, you mean."

"I'm getting to it. I'm just not sure how to put this."

"All right," I said. "I'll do it for you. The Irie Clinic was researching a cure for Hinamizawa Syndrome. So maybe, as a by-product of that research, they developed a serum or something that would _cause_ the Syndrome..."

Tomitake's face was tightly drawn. It was easy enough to tell that I was getting close.

"In fact, that was Tokyo's goal from the beginning, wasn't it? They wanted to develop something like that as a biological weapon. And you think there may be something still down there, some part of Takano's research, that would allow someone to duplicate that discovery and unleash the Syndrome after all."

I didn't need to ask Tomitake whether I was right. But that still didn't explain everything. What were these "mysterious occurrences" that his theory helped to explain?

And then I caught my breath as it came to me.

"_Miaka._ Of course. That's how she fits in. She came down with the Syndrome out of nowhere, in Kyoto, when she has no connection with Hinamizawa. She's their test case!"

"Exactly."

"But that means they already have a way to cause the Syndrome! It worked on Miaka, didn't it?"

I was shaking. I'd lost control of my voice. Tomitake was looking at me in alarm. Of course – we _had_ to make sure no-one heard us.

"Sorry, Tomitake-san," I said.

"It's all right. This is a lot for you to take in."

I nodded, and took a deep breath to steady myself.

"There's one thing I don't get," I said. "I thought the Tokyo group were finished years ago?"

"As a political organisation, yes," said Tomitake. "After the truth about their activities came to light, the group was discredited and their leaders got lengthy jail terms. But there's no guarantee that every member of the group was caught and sentenced. And even if they were, those lower down in the hierarchy would have received shorter sentences and may well be free by now. And perhaps, what they can no longer gain through the political system, they are now trying to gain through other means."

"In other words, you think that the Kanahebi are the successors of the Tokyo organisation."

Tomitake nodded.

"Sorry," I said. "This just all sounds way too far-fetched – like joining the dots just because you see a line that _could_ be there, even though they're miles apart."

"I've been working on this for a long time," he said. "The more I look into it, the clearer the picture gets."

"But why would the Kanahebi kill Keiichi and Rena, if your theory is true? How does that fit in?"

"I don't pretend to have all the answers –"

"Then how can you be so sure about any of it?"

Tomitake sighed. "I wish I could," he said. "But sometimes you just have to guess in the dark and try to stumble on as best you can. That's why I came here. I need to find out more."

"And you think you'll find the answers in the Labyrinth?"

There was a long silence.

"You're quite right," he said. "Takano _did_ develop a serum that would induce the Hinamizawa Syndrome. I can't prove that that's what was used on Miaka, but it's by far the most likely guess. There has never been a case of the Syndrome outside Hinamizawa before now."

I clenched a fist and pressed it into the bench we were sitting on.

"Why didn't you say anything? Don't you realise how much this is hurting Miaka – is hurting all of us?"

"I know," Tomitake said sadly. "I met her, you know, the first day after she awakened. I could see that she was struggling to come to terms with what she'd done. She tried not to show it, but she was terrified. I took her to visit Rika-sama, so that we could reassure her she was going to be looked after..."

His voice trailed off.

"But you still couldn't tell her the truth. That she was _given_ the Syndrome and it wasn't her fault at all."

"I'm sorry, Akito-kun," said Tomitake. "It wasn't my secret to give away."

"Then whose was it?"

"Back then, when we first found out the truth, we tried to make sure it would never get out. It would be too dangerous if it became known."

"Well, someone must have spilled the beans, or they wouldn't have been able to give the Syndrome to Miaka."

Tomitake nodded.

"And you think that someone is a member of the Sonozaki family."

He looked steadily away from me.

"I don't want to believe it," I said slowly. "But it _does_ fit in. You didn't even know this, but someone removed Miaka's file from Toshio's safe. Only a family member could have done that."

"Someone removed Miaka's file?" said Tomitake. "That _is_ interesting..."

"There must have been something in the file that would have been a clue, if we got hold of it," I said. "You know, something that would have pointed to the person who gave Miaka the Syndrome..." I shook my head. "Now look! You've got me all caught up in your crazy talk!"

Tomitake laughed. I glared at him, and he quickly froze up again.

"So what are you going to do?" I said.

"Find out who the Sonozaki contact is, and find enough evidence to expose them. Once we have the rest of the Sonozakis on our side, without having to worry about a traitor, we can resist the Kanahebi."

"We don't have much time," I pointed out.

"No. Nor do we have many allies. Akito-kun, if I do go missing, then I want you to promise me something."

"Yes?"

He wrote something on a scrap of paper and passed it to me. It was a name and address.

"Akasaka Mamoru?" I read out.

"He's an old colleague of mine. A police officer, though he's retired now. We worked together during the Tokyo investigation, and I know that he'd do anything for me. Also, he has a daughter in the force, Sorimachi Miyuki. She could give us official backup."

I nodded, and solemnly put the scrap into my pocket. "But, Tomitake-san, shouldn't we warn them now?"

"No. There's not much he could do, being so far away. And I'm not willing to put anyone else's life at risk until it's absolutely necessary."

"Tomitake-san... do you really think...?"

"Sorry, kid." He stared into the distance. "I try not to think about it too much, but this is big. Too big for me, perhaps. If I don't make it, tell Kumiko I love her, okay?"

"_Tomitake!_"

He smiled gratefully. "So – do I have your permission to explore the Labyrinth?"

"Of course," I said. "Anything. But, Tomitake-san, if you wanted the family to protect you... Kasai-san..."

"I remember Kasai," he said with a grin. "But going round with a bodyguard would be too conspicuous. This has to be done in secret."

"Karen, then?"

He paused. "I don't know Karen-san very well. She's a ninja, isn't she?"

"She claims to be one. No-one seems to know whether the ninja school she has a qualification from actually exists."

Tomitake laughed. "Still, she is a member of the family. And no offence, but I don't feel like I can trust _anyone_ with the name Sonozaki right now."

"You're talking to me," I pointed out.

"True. But I'm pretty sure you're too young to be the person I'm looking for."

"Yeah." I was too exhausted to try to make a joke. "Tomitake-san... good luck."

He bowed. "Thank you. I hope this will all be over soon, and we can have some good times together."

"I hope so too."

* * *

><p>I took the next day off school, feigning illness. I wouldn't have been able to concentrate on maths or anything like that, when I had so much to think about. By the time I'd had a late breakfast, my mind was made up. I couldn't let Tomitake shoulder this burden on his own; I had to do all I could to help him, for Miaka's sake!<p>

But what could I do? One thing Tomitake had said was running through my mind. _We don't have many allies._ I could enlist the Sonozaki family – but that would be no good. Tomitake suspected that a member of the family was a traitor. If he was right, we couldn't risk letting that traitor know that we knew about them.

But there was one other option.

You see, the Sonozaki family are the major yakuza clan in the local area. If you hadn't realised that by now, then I'm sorry, and I hope the truth doesn't upset you. We're not uncivilised. We don't do stuff like dealing in drugs or selling girls into slavery like other yakuza clans. What we do is provide a service – keeping the area free from petty criminals and hooligans – and it's only fair that we expect everyone in the community to contribute to our costs. When the time comes, I will be the family head. I won't go around enforcing the law myself – I'm not cut out for that – but I know that I'll have to take responsibility for the actions of the family. That's the role I've been trained for ever since I was born, and to be honest, I'm looking forward to the challenge of taking it on.

But where was I? Ah, yes. There are of course other yakuza clans in the area. Some are smaller groups who are affiliated with us. But there's also our rival clan, the Misoras. They will have nothing to do with us; they tell each other that _they_ are the clean, upstanding citizens and _we_ are the ones who play dirty. The Sonozakis and the Misoras have been rivals for control of the territory for hundreds of years, and they also have their affiliates. At one time, they were more or less our equals; but our influence has expanded over the years, and theirs declined.

And the reason I mention them now is that Grandpa Juntarou was, by birth, a Misora. When he fell in love with Grandma, it was a classic case of forbidden love; both of them knew they faced being disinherited, but they chose to accept that so they could be together. Eventually, Oni-baba forgave Grandma and let them move back into Sonozaki Manor, though Grandma had to yank off three of her fingernails as a penance.

So, as you can imagine, even now we don't have much contact with our Misora relatives. Grandpa's brother, Uncle Zenichi, is the current family head. But times are changing, and sooner or later, the families have to recognise that. The days of open warfare are over. The government are making it hard for the yakuza clans to keep operating in the way they have been used to. We will have to learn to cooperate with each other if we're going to survive. And so the younger generation, and Mother in particular, have always encouraged us to keep in touch with the Misoras, even if we can't entirely get on with them. They are still Misoras, after all.

They live in Fukudaya, which is a bit too far to walk, and there's no direct bus route. I can actually drive; the family made sure that I learned at an early age. But I couldn't take a family car by myself without attracting awkward questions. So I got one of the maids to drive me. We stopped the car some distance from their house, so as not to seem to upfront, and I told her what time I wanted to be picked up.

The Misora family home is much smaller than Sonozaki Manor, though their family is equally large – eight family members, if you include Grandpa Juntarou even though he lives with us. Uncle Zenichi is the family head, as I said. His wife, Natsuo, was a beautiful woman at one time – before I was born, of course, but I've seen photos. Now she is just a demure and quiet old lady. The next heir is their daughter and only child, Yuka. She has a husband and three children. I wouldn't meet the son, Tooru, today; he's away at university in one of the big cities, I forget which. The elder daughter, Mami, is seventeen, and Hibiki is nine. They would be in school at the moment, but I would stay long enough to say hello when they came home. It would be impolite not to.

But it was really Yuka I had come to see. The butler showed me into a small and cosy sitting-room, with a nice rich carpet and armchairs, but few ornaments. Yuka came down a minute or so later. She was smartly dressed in an elegant blue blouse that went well with her long purple braid and piercing dark eyes. She closed the door and floated down onto the cushions opposite me, and greeted me with a bow and a little smile.

"Akito-kun, this is a surprise. What brings you here today – is it business, or merely social?"

"Just social," I said with a straight face. "You know that in Hinamizawa, we have the Watanagashi festival this Sunday –"

"Yes, we'll all be there." She smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm afraid I may not have very much time to show you round," I said. "You see, there's a new girl in the village, Teramachi Miaka-san, and I've been charged with looking after her."

"I understand, and that's fine. Though I'm sure Mami will be disappointed not to be able to spend more time with you."

I returned her smile, feigning innocence. In truth, it's been obvious for a long time that she would like to set me and Mami up together. The Misoras have fallen on hard times, and it would be one way to ensure that we looked after their interests. Well, Mami is attractive enough, and when she's in a good mood she can be fun to spend time with, and yes, I have slept with her and I enjoyed it – don't judge me! It was only once, and it was a year ago, when I was young and insecure, and didn't know how to decide whether it was what I really wanted. But marriage? No way. We would drive each other raving mad within a few days.

"I'm sorry about that, but it can't be helped," I said. "So I thought... you know, by way of making up for it... I'd come round and see whether there's anything particular I could do for you at the festival."

"That's very kind of you, Akito-kun." She thought for a moment. "Well, I know that last year, Hibiki was very disappointed not to win any prizes, so... perhaps... could you drop a hint to one or two of the stallholders?"

"Sure, I can do that."

I relaxed. Now that my excuse for being there was taken care of, I could just talk and observe, as Karen had said.

"Would you like a drink, Akito-kun?"

I asked for jasmine tea, and she returned in a few minutes with two cups.

"That's good," I sighed as I tasted it. "Yuka-san, it's a while since I saw you. How are the family doing?"

"We're struggling through difficulties, as usual." Her mouth flattened into the tight line that was as close as she ever came to frowning. "I'm sure you're experiencing much of the same difficulties yourselves."

"I'm afraid so. The world is tough, and it's constantly changing..."

"That's why it's good that we have young folks like you and Tooru to take over when it's time for us to pass on the burden." Yuka relaxed in her seat, her eyes studying me. "You're not fixed on the old ways, like me and your mother. You can adapt."

"But surely, Yuka-san," I said, "you'll be the one to take over when Uncle Zenichi retires?"

"Perhaps," she said. "Though you know, sometimes I think it would be nice not to have to bother with all that. Just pass it straight on to Tooru. If he can find a good partner..."

"Does he have a girlfriend at the moment?"

"I'm not sure. You know what your generation are like, very secretive about that kind of thing. I'm sure he's had one or two girlfriends, but I don't think he's found anyone steady yet."

"Perhaps you'd be more willing to pass on the burden to Mami." I laughed. Surely even Yuka would realise that I couldn't possibly be serious?

But she looked thoughtful, as though she really were considering the idea.

"Well, perhaps," she said. "Though again, only if she managed to settle down with someone... _reliable_."

I decided to change the subject. "Yuka-san," I said, "what do you know about the Kanahebi?"

She looked at me sharply. "Why on earth do you ask that?"

"Well, I just seem to be hearing an awful lot about them these days."

"Yes, they are on the news a lot, if you follow that sort of thing. I don't, really. They're a long way out of our territory."

"So – who exactly are they?"

"From what I can tell, they started as a political movement. They said too much of Japan was controlled by the yakuza, and it was time the yakuza were made illegal. For the good of society. Everyone talks about the greater good, don't they? But if you ask me, all they're really interested in is power, and they don't seem to have many reservations about the methods they use to get it."

"And do you think they'll succeed?"

Her eyes glistened merrily. "Who knows? It's quite a struggle they've picked for themselves. But they _have_ won some battles. They've stood up against the yakuza in Tokyo, and the yakuza haven't managed to break them."

"Have they tried?"

"I'm sure they have. It's as if a war has been going on, invisibly in the distance, and we'll only become aware of it when it reaches us..."

_War._ The second time that word had been used.

"They can't really win a war against the yakuza, though, can they?" I said.

"Who knows?" said Yuka. "One would think not, but then... there are some who say that Sakurahara has powers that are more than human."

"But you can't really believe that –"

"I have no idea. Thank goodness, I've never met the man and hope I never will. Let's hope he stays a long way away."

And I could do nothing more than repeat the same words I had said to Tomitake – words that were empty and dead, because they showed how utterly _helpless_ I felt against the forces of change in the world.

"I hope so too."


	58. Part IV Ch 7 Bewitching Spirit

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**7  
>Bewitching Spirit<strong>

Yuka and I talked of trivial matters for a while. And then the bell rang, and before anyone even had time to look up, the door was thrust open and the hallway filled with the echo of Mami's "_Tadaima!_" No other sound; nothing to indicate that her sister had arrived with her. As Yuka got up and went out into the hall to greet her daughters, I sat back and waited for the storm to erupt. A few moments later – probably as soon as Yuka mentioned that I was there – the corridor shook with thundering footsteps, and Mami crashed through the door and landed, her momentum carrying her head forward into an effusive bow that sent her pink braids swinging over her and hitting the floor with a thump. Hibiki appeared in the doorway, her dark purple hair deepening the shadows around her until she looked almost invisible. She made a little noise in my direction – I knew her well enough to know that that was her way of saying "Nice to see you."

Mami had no such inhibitions. Once she had finished devouring me with her eyes, she sprang across the room and flopped down on the couch beside me, leaning into me as if I was just another cushion. I wondered, silently, whether she was like this with all her friends.

"Hey, Akito-kun! How are things in Hinamizawa?"

"Difficult," I said. Mami's weight was pressing on my shoulder, and it was starting to ache. I tried to shift around and find a more comfortable position.

"Oh? Is Akito-kun having troubles? You must tell me about it."

I let out a big sigh. "Where to start?"

"At the beginning." She ran the tip of a finger down my arm.

"Oh, fine." I paused to gather my thoughts. "I suppose it all started when Miaka started acting weirdly..."

"Who's Miaka, Akito-kun?"

"She's a new girl in the village. At least, she's staying with us for a month."

Mami looked up at me with wide eyes. "And is she pretty?"

"Yeah, like nothing you ever saw before in your life." I stopped abruptly. What did I just say? I mean, I know I've been thinking about Miaka a lot, but I don't think like _that_ about her – do I? Or maybe I did all along, and it was only now that I was beginning to admit it to myself.

"Ah... has little Akito-kun fallen in love?"

"_No!_" I said sharply. Mami flinched away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I said. "It's just... look, it doesn't matter how pretty she is. She's only staying in the village for a month, for one thing. For another, she's absolutely batshit crazy."

"Oh? In what way?"

I sighed. I really hadn't wanted to tell Mami all this. I wasn't that wild about saying it in front of Hibiki either, come to think of it; she was still standing silently in the doorway, watching us. But I suppose I had no option now. "So we were in Angel Mort the other day, and she started babbling about some murder she thought had happened there. There has _never_ been a murder at Angel Mort since the Sonozaki family came into possession, I'm sure of it."

"Hmm." Mami's eyes lit up. "Perhaps she's seeing the future!"

"Impossible," I said at once. "There's no such thing. The future gets changed every time we make a decision. For a start, we could close Angel Mort down if we wanted to, and then it _couldn't_ happen."

"Yes, but you're not going to close it down," Mami observed.

"Of course not."

"You see! I just predicted the future!"

I groaned. "Mami-kun, it's not even nearly the same thing. Miaka was acting like she could _see_ the murder, like it was happening right there in front of her. She even said the victim was a particular waitress, Anzu – the whole thing was triggered when one of us happened to say Anzu's name. It freaked the life out of her."

"Well, I don't know this Miaka girl," said Mami. "Is she an attention whore? Do you think she might have acted the scene out for a laugh?"

"No, and no," I said crossly. "I'm sure of it."

"I think you do like her, Akito-kun..."

"And so what if I do?"

"You're _trying_ to be angry with her because you think you don't have a chance anyway, and if you can make yourself believe she's crazy, you won't feel so much regret when she leaves." For a moment, Mami's smile could almost be called tender. "Am I right?"

I squirmed, but Mami's hand was holding me in place, and I couldn't get away.

"I guess so."

"Well then, maybe you should give her a chance. Tell her how you feel."

"I can't do that. She's leaving in two more weeks, and anyway..."

"Yes?"

I closed my eyes. "I don't want to split up the club over this. It would be awkward if Miaka decided she didn't want to play with us any more. And... I think Naoya likes her too."

"Well, that's not surprising, if she's as beautiful as you say," said Mami. "So, how would you feel about it if Miaka started going out with Naoya?"

"There's no way," I said at once. "I mean... _Naoya_..."

"He's a very handsome young man."

I swivelled round to stare at her. "You're not serious."

"Why shouldn't I be? I've always liked Naoya-kun."

"But... he's so quiet and unconfident. Girls never go for a guy like that."

"You're _talking_ to a girl, Akito-kun."

"Oh yeah," I said. "Sorry."

"You forgot?" she said with a glint in her eye. "How could you forget, Akito-kun? What about those good times we had together?" She turned around and leant into me so that her breast pressed against my side. I squirmed.

"I could never forget that, Mami-kun."

"I'm glad," she whispered. She reached her hand across me and began to stroke my cheek. "I'm glad it meant something to you."

"Hey, stop that," I said. Hibiki was still rocking back and forth in the doorway, not really watching us, but I wondered what she made of it all the same. There was only one thing left to do: I locked my arm with Mami's and pushed it down so that her hand stayed away from my face. She leant into me and her breathing became slower and heavier. Well, I suppose if she wanted a hug that badly, I didn't really mind.

After a few minutes, I lifted her off me, and replaced her on the other side of the couch. She shook her hair away from her face and leant back, keeping her eyes steadily on me.

"So," she said at last.

"Yes?"

"You want me to keep Naoya away from this Miaka girl?"

"Huh?" I said. "Oh, you mean at the festival. I forgot you were coming this year. I suppose you'll get to meet them both, then. We'll be having our annual games and eating contests as usual..."

"Want me to join in?"

"Um." I thought about this. "You don't really know the other club members, do you?"

"I'd like to get to know them better."

I knew then that there was no way out. I just couldn't think of any reason why Mami shouldn't join in our games with us. After all, who was to say whether the others wouldn't end up liking her?

"All right," I said. "I'll let the others know to expect you, and if you turn up at the festival nice and early, I'll introduce you and you can join in the contest."

"Wonderful!" Mami cried, clapping her hands. "I've always wanted to attend the Watanagashi festival."

I shot her a glance. "Then – why haven't you ever attended before?"

"Oh, you know how things are between your family and mine. _You're_ all right, but some of your relatives still haven't forgotten that we're meant to be enemies. Sonozaki Karen, for one."

I scowled. "Karen always causes trouble. I hope you can just ignore her."

"I hope so too. But I don't think she'll make trouble this year. Your grandfather specially invited us, so she can't exactly complain, can she?"

"What?" I cried. "Grandpa Juntarou invited your family?"

She looked at me quizzically. "Didn't you know?"

"This is the first I've heard of it. I wonder why."

"Why shouldn't he want to spend time with us? We _are_ his family too."

"I know, but..." I waved my hands helplessly. "Why now? You'd be coming to the festival anyway, so why make a big deal of an invitation, when he's never done that before?"

"Who knows?" said Mami. "Maybe he just wants to put Grandpa Zenichi in a good mood before proposing a business deal. You know both our families are struggling these days, Akito-kun. Maybe your grandfather thinks it's about time we settled our differences and stood together."

"Yeah," I said uneasily. "Maybe. I guess that makes sense."

"Or maybe he wants to arrange for you and me to marry each other! Did you think of _that_, Akito-kun?"

"What?" I said with a grimace.

Mami laughed. "I wish I had a camera right now. But seriously, you know that's how families like ours always used to negotiate deals with their neighbours."

"I know," I said. "But that's in the _past_, Mami-kun."

"Well, you know how reluctant the old folks are to change their ways sometimes."

"No kidding. Still, they can't do something like that these days."

"They can't _force_ us to marry, no. But that doesn't mean they can't discuss the idea."

I stared hard at Mami. Her voice had taken on an earnestness that was quite unlike her.

"Do you really think that's it?" I said.

"Just a guess. I just wanted you to be prepared for it."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"Akito-kun?" she said. "Tell me... if the family _did_ want us to get married – would you?"

I didn't want to answer that question.

"Would _you_?" I said.

She grinned. "Sure, why not? You know, I think it doesn't really matter much who you marry. The main thing is to be content with yourself."

"I couldn't make you happy, Mami-kun."

"You haven't tried."

I looked away from her.

"You really want this Miaka girl," she said.

"Right now, I don't know what I want."

"Give her a chance. Otherwise you'll never know what might have been. And you don't want to spend the rest of your life wondering."

"I can't ask her out," I said.

"You don't have to. Just spend some time with her at the festival. I'll keep Naoya-kun out of the way for you. See how it goes. You never know. Maybe she already likes you and _she'll_ ask _you_ out."

"Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen."

"You never know. Give it a try. Promise me you will, Akito-kun?"

"I promise," I said.

A broad grin spread right the way across her face.

"Excellent. I'm really looking forward to meeting your friends!"

There was a timid knock at the door.

"Come in, Hibiki!" Mami called out. I hadn't noticed at what point Hibiki had left the room.

She entered, bowed to us, then turned to pick up a tray bearing three mugs of tea and a large plate of homemade cookies. She walked over to us and held the tray out, without speaking a word.

"Thank you," Mami said, shaking her hair again as she reached out to take her mug.

Hibiki smiled and settled down on a cushion on the other side of the room. I gratefully sipped my tea – all that talking had made me very thirsty – and bit into a cookie. I was rewarded by a rich mixture of tastes in which I recognised ginger and coconut, blended with so many more that it was impossible to pick out individual strands.

"These are amazing!" I said, quite sincerely. "Did you make them, Hibiki-chan?"

"Uh-huh!" She nodded excitedly.

"Wow," I said. "You should come over to ours some time and teach Kotone how to make them."

"Teach Kotone?" Mami said with a grin. "Not you?"

"I'm a disaster when it comes to cooking."

Hibiki was listening intently. She opened her mouth and tried to say something. At last she managed to form the sounds: "Ko – to – ne?"

"Kotone is my little sister," I said. "She's ever so cute. You'd get on very well with her."

"You'll get to meet her at the festival," said Mami. "You know, the Watanagashi festival in Hinamizawa. We're going there this Sunday."

"Kotone like cookies?"

"You bet she does," I said. "She loves sweet things. I never met a girl her age who didn't."

Hibiki burst into a broad grin.

"I like Kotone. Make cookies for her."

"Hmm," I said. "How many cookies can you make in one batch?"

Hibiki looked at me blankly.

"She's not very good at maths," said Mami.

"Well, that's something we have in common, then."

"If you want a lot of cookies, I could help her make them," said Mami. "We could make – let's say four dozen?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," I said. "We can make it into one round of the eating contest – if you don't mind seeing your cookies wolfed down like there's no tomorrow."

"She won't mind," said Mami.

"That's good. Saki is a very dangerous competitor."

"Which one is Saki?"

"Fujiura Saki, my cousin on Dad's side. She's eleven years old and very annoying. And the last member of our club, whom you won't have met yet, is Kotone's best friend, Furude Kizuna."

"Furude? She must be the daughter of your village priestess, Furude Rika-sama."

"That's right."

"Sounds like you've got quite a harem!" Mami laughed.

I didn't bother rising to it.

"I'd better get going," I said. "My parents don't know I came here today."

"Oh? You came to see me in secret? I'm touched."

I scowled. "I guess I just wanted to talk to someone, doesn't matter who. And, you know, normally that would be Naoya, but right now..."

"I understand," said Mami. "Honestly, Akito-kun, I'm glad you came."

"Yeah," I said. "I'm glad too."

I was surprised by my own words. And even more surprised when I realised that I actually meant them. I guess it must have been the cookies.

I stood up rather awkwardly, bowed one last time to both girls, and made a hasty exit. I didn't look round as I left the house. I really didn't want to see Mami's face just then. I called up the maid, and a few minutes later I was safely back in the car and we were on our way back to Hinamizawa.


	59. Part IV Ch 8 Calm Before the Storm

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**8  
>Calm Before the Storm<strong>

I couldn't get to sleep that night; my head was so full of thoughts that it hurt. At last, when I couldn't bear it any longer, I slipped on my dressing-gown and hurried downstairs. I took a good look around to make sure that none of the servants were nearby, and gave Tomitake a call.

"H... hello?" said a blurry voice. "Who is this?"

"It's Akito. Sorry if I woke you –"

"It's okay."

"So, have you found out anything?"

There was a long silence.

"Not really."

I wasn't going to let him fob me off like that. "What do you mean?"

Tomitake gave a loud sigh. "I can't tell you anything yet, Akito-kun. I'm sorry."

"_Why not?_"

"Because I could be all wrong..."

"So you do have suspicions."

"Akito-kun, this isn't fair –"

"This isn't fair on me!" I burst out. "How do you think this is making me feel?"

"Akito-kun, I'm sorry..."

"You suspect a member of my family." I didn't bother phrasing this as a question. "One member in particular."

"Well, yes."

"Then tell me who."

Another long silence.

"I'm sorry, Akito-kun, but I _can't_. It could do too much harm if I turn out to be wrong."

"And what if you're right, and you die without telling anyone?"

"I've taken care of that," said Tomitake. "The name of the person I suspect is in an envelope in my hotel room, and if I die or disappear, it will be sent to Akasaka-san."

"And what can _he_ do?" I said bitterly. "Tomitake-san, it sounds like you just don't set enough value on your own life..."

"Listen to me, Akito-kun. There's something I need you to understand."

I gritted my teeth and scowled in the direction of the phone.

"What is it?"

"You weren't around twenty-five years ago, so you can't understand what it was like for us in the years of Oyashiro-sama's curse. We knew, the few of us who were in on the secret of Hinamizawa Syndrome, exactly what was at stake. An outbreak had to be prevented at all costs – there was an emergency manual that, if activated, would have meant the destruction of the village and the loss of two thousand lives. It was horrible to think about. But we knew that we _had_ to have that available as a last resource – and pray to Oyashiro-sama that we never had to use it."

"Yes, I know all that," I said wearily. I had given so much thought to the Hinamizawa Syndrome over the last few days, it seemed to be taking over my life! And yeah, I know it's important. But I'm just a kid. I don't want to be saddled with that kind of burden – you can understand that, can't you?

Tomitake was speaking again. I switched back to listen to him.

"So you can see why I'm determined, again, to do whatever it takes to prevent the Syndrome being hijacked and used as a biological weapon. Because I'm more certain than ever that that is exactly what the Kanahebi are planning. They have to be stopped."

"I know." I tried to find some smart retort to let Tomitake know that I wasn't just going to sit back and take orders, but I couldn't think of anything. Really, I knew he was right.

"All right," I said. "So, what should I do?"

"For now, nothing," said Tomitake. "I'm sorry if that sounds cold, but you're got no experience in investigating. You'd only attract the suspicions of the people we're trying to catch. And I'm afraid they'd have no hesitation in getting rid of you, even if you are the heir to the Sonozaki family."

I ground my teeth. "Tomitake, I can't just stay quiet and keep out of the way, not know that I know about all this! Why did you tell me anything in the first place?"

"Keeping secrets is hard, isn't it?" he said. "I'm sorry, Akito-kun. I make mistakes sometimes as well. Plase try to forgive me."

It was tempting to just disconnect the call. But I remembered – he was putting himself in danger, for my sake as well as anyone's, to help all of us. This might be the last time I would speak to him.

"I forgive you," I said. "But, Tomitake-san, please take care."

* * *

><p>The next day at school, it was <em>Saki<em> of all people who first noticed that I wasn't my usual self. Halfway through the English lesson (which Mion was taking, as she has a particular gift for languages) she leant forward and prodded me in the back with a pencil.

"Ouch!" I cried. "What was that for, you little pest?"

"Why are you in a bad mood, Akito-senpai?"

"Oh, I don't know," I said sarcastically. "Maybe it has something to do with having Fujiura Saki sitting behind me."

She pouted at me. "That's _cruel_, senpai."

"Why don't you just mind your own business, for a change?"

There was a swish like wind in the trees, and I knew that Mion was standing in front of my desk, her ponytail cutting through the air like a knife.

"Is anything wrong, Akito?"

"Just Saki being a pest as usual."

"Well, you'll just have to learn to ignore her. You're her senior, Akito. You need to be the mature one."

I bowed. "Sorry, Aunt Mion."

"And Saki, please concentrate on the lesson." She leant down and pointed to a sentence in the textbook. "How would you put that into the passive?"

I bent down and tried to concentrate on my own work. Saki left me alone after that. Then when it was time for lunch, instead of joining the rest of the club, she gave me a cold glare and went and sat alone in a corner.

"What's up with Saki-chan?" said Naoya.

"No idea," I said. "I told her off for being a pest, and now she's sulking."

"Maybe you were a bit too hard on her," said Miaka. "It's not the same when we're not all together." She looked up at me with wide, pleading eyes. "Couldn't you ask her to come over?"

I sighed. My first instinct was to say no, it served the little pest right if she was left on her own. But – well, it was _Miaka_ who was asking me...

I put my chopsticks down and walked over to Saki.

"Saki-chan..."

She didn't look up. "Go away."

I bit my lip. I guess Mion was right; I had to be the mature one, even if it hurt. "I'm sorry, Saki."

Then I noticed that a tear was glinting in the corner of her eye. "Why were you so angry, Akito-senpai? I was only trying to be nice to you..."

"Well, that makes a change."

She gripped the table with both hands, and lifted her head to give me a Saki Special fiery glare. "Why are you so _horrible_ to me? I only asked if anything was wrong! I want to help you!"

I stopped. Really, when you thought about it, she had a point.

"I'm sorry, Saki-chan," I said. "You can't help anyway."

"Well then, you could just _say so_, instead of getting me in trouble with Aunt Mion!"

"Yeah." I took a deep breath. "You're right, Saki. Please forgive me."

"It's all right," she said with a sudden smile. "You're just not yourself right now. You haven't been for a while, you know that?"

I blinked. Had it really been as obvious as that?

"We've all been worried about you."

"That's right," said a small voice at my side.

I glanced round. Kizuna was gazing up at me, with that earnest look that never seems to leave her.

"Why don't you talk to us if something's wrong, Akito-senpai? We're your friends."

I shook my head. "This really isn't something you can help with."

"You have to nurture your bonds of friendship, Akito-senpai..."

"Some other time," I said. "Look, maybe I'm just stressed because the Watanagashi festival is so soon. But we're all going to have a good time, aren't we, Kichi?"

She seemed to brighten up a little at that – though I knew she was pretty stressed about the festival herself. Maybe all of us were just pretending to be cheerful, while underneath we were ready to snap at any moment – who knew?

"Yup!" Kizuna tugged on my sleeve. "Now come back and sit down with us, or Kotone will finish yours."

"I don't mind if she does," I said. "Sorry, Kichi, but I really need some time by myself right now."

And I shook myself loose and walked away. But as I passed Saki, I reached down and stroked her hair, and she looked up at me with a broad smile, and I knew that we were friends again.

* * *

><p>After that, we were all kept busy setting up the shrine for the Watanagashi festival. I tried my best to lose myself in the work, and not to notice how much time Miaka and Naoya were spending together. It may just have been my imagination, but Naoya even seemed to be avoiding me. When we were thrown together in carrying a heavy table out of the Saiguden, he glanced at me and looked for a moment as if he were about to speak, and then looked away again. Well, that was fine by me. I couldn't talk to either of them any more. I couldn't tell them about the secrets I was carrying; but if I tried to talk about everyday things, it would just have been a meaningless façade, an all-too-transparent attempt to hide the worry that filled my every thought.<p>

So what if Miaka didn't notice I was worried and wasn't concerned about me? I was a Sonozaki, anyway. My destiny lay with the family; I had to put them before myself. If I did not, who else would shoulder the burden that it was my duty to carry? I could not pass it on to Kotone, never. No matter how much it hurt, I had to struggle on, so as to keep this burden from ever touching her. I forgot that duty once, and she still bears the scar I gave her that day. I will never forget it again. _Never_.

So I left Naoya and Miaka to put up the festival tents together, and shunted crates and tables by myself, or with Suguru. He, at least, was just so quiet that even if he did notice I was not my usual self, he would never ask questions. And, so long as I had something to keep busy with, I could forget my worries for a time.

On Friday evening, Aunt Mion invited the entire club round for dinner, to say thank you for our hard work. Miaka was delighted; by then, she'd been in Hinamizawa for two weeks, long enough to have heard all about the wonders of Mion's cooking. Naoya was no less pleased; his mother is a decent cook, but she has a strange obsession with curry, and when you don't share that obsession, living with her must get rather monotonous.

So the two of them were chatting merrily as they arrived at the Manor, together. Kizuna was already there; when Kotone and I had left the others early to help get things ready, she at once announced that she was coming with us. Saki was nowhere in sight; fashionably late as usual. In my role as the host, I went to the the door and bowed as I let them in. So long as I could keep smiling, everything would be all right.

I led the way to the dining room, and then we were accosted by Kotone and Kizuna, who were pretending to be servants in their own strange way, orbiting round Miaka and Naoya and constantly asking them if they needed anything. No real servant behaves like that.

Miaka sat down next to Naoya and immediately carried on their conversation, with just a little glance at me to ask if I would sit on her other side. I pretended not to have noticed, and sat down next to Kotone, leaving the seat on my other side vacant for Saki.

"Hey, big brother," Kotone said at once.

"Hey, kid," I replied with a sigh. "And Kichi. How are you – feeling ready for the big day?"

"Yes, thank you, Akito-senpai." She managed a smile that was obviously fake.

"You'll be glad when it's all over, huh?"

Kotone nudged me. I ignored her.

"Yeah, me too." I stopped, realising that I wasn't supposed to say this. I looked around for inspiration for a change of subject. Fortunately, Saki arrived just then, bustling in as though she owned the whole village.

"Evening, everyone!" She glided into her seat and nudged Miaka. "You're in for a real treat, senpai."

"Oh? I've heard that Mion-san is a good cook..."

"She is, but please don't say that in front of her," said Mother. She and Father had arrived and taken their seats at the head of the table.

"Why not?"

Mother glanced at the door to the kitchen, to check that Mion was not approaching. "Well, the _best_ cook in the village was Rena-chan, you know, Naoya's sister. Mion wouldn't want to be reminded –"

"Mother," I interrupted, "I don't think Miaka-chan knows about Rena yet..." At least, _I_ hadn't told her. And it was pretty clear that Naoya hadn't either, judging by the shocked look on her face.

"Oh." Mother hesitated, and then beamed at Miaka. "Sorry about that. How are things going with the club?"

"Who is Rena, Sonozaki-sensei?" Miaka pressed her.

Mother sighed and glanced at the door again. "Well, Keiichi and Rena were part of our group of friends when we were kids, you know, the original club. They both died when they were away at university, in a terrorist attack by the Kanahebi. Mion... well, she was in love with Keiichi, and she's never gotten over it."

Miaka's mouth fell open.

"Naoya-kun! Why... why did you never tell me this?"

Naoya closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Miaka-chan. It's just all a bit weird for me." He looked up. "I'm sorry, sensei. I know Rena was your friend, but to me – she died when I was just a baby. I never got to know her, except from what my family have told me. So I don't really feel any grief. But I've had to live my whole live under her shadow, so to speak."

"We never meant for you to feel that way, Naoya-kun," said Father.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "I don't blame you or anyone, Satoshi-san. But my father... he's never gotten over it either. I think part of him still believes Rena will come waltzing through the door any day now, if only he keeps on believing long enough. He still has all his photos of her up around the house, and her room clean and tidy, just waiting for her to come back."

"Wow," Miaka said softly. "Naoya-kun, I'm so sorry..."

Naoya shook his head. "Let's forget it for now. It was a horrible tragedy, but we can't let it cast a shadow on our lives for ever. Especially not yours, Miaka-chan, when you're only here for a month, and we all want you to enjoy the festival." Kotone nodded enthusiastically at this.

"Thanks." Miaka reached out and clasped his hand. I had to look away. No matter how strong I tried to be, some things were more than I could take.

Luckily, at that moment there was a loud call of "Dinner's served!" and Mion came bustling in with a trolley. Mother slipped from her seat and helped Mion serve. For a long while, there was no more conversation as we all tucked in – and I shall not take up space describing the food, as that would only make you hunger for tastes you will never have the privilege of experiencing. Just as I hungered for – no, never mind about that.

Miaka had a healthy appetite, and was the first to finish. She laid down her chopsticks and bowed to Mion.

"Thank you, Sonozaki-sama. That was delicious, and..."

She faltered, and stared down at her bowl. I grimaced. Now Miaka knew how difficult it was to have a secret. She only wanted to express her sympathy for Mion's loss, but she couldn't – we had all just agreed not to discuss it. So she looked away and remained silent: and that was how the silence between us had grown over the years, until none of us knew how to bring up the subject of Keiichi any more, but neither did we know how to talk to Mion without mentioning it. And so we grew more and more distant, and Mion slowly froze behind the wall of silence we had built around her. Perhaps Mother and Rika-sama still knew how to talk to her, but certainly none of the younger generation.

I looked up at Mion with a mournful smile. Well, at least we had something in common now: neither of us would be looking forward to the Watanagashi festival this year.

But I couldn't explain to her that I felt like that either.


	60. Part IV Ch 9 When Naoya Met Mami

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**9  
>When Naoya Met Mami<strong>

The morning of Watanagashi was one of glorious sunshine. The last we would get for a while, apparently; we were forecast heavy rain for the rest of the week. But from the moment I woke up, already warm from the sun casting a silken blanket over my bed, I felt that one day would be enough. Kotone was running around the house, laughing; the air was infected with her enthusiasm. And it wasn't just her; as I came down to breakfast, everyone was chatting away merrily, with all cares and worries forgotten. Mother and Father, Grandma Akane and Grandpa Juntarou... well, everyone except Mion, who sat watching us with a mournful smile, telling us to get on with the day and not worry about her. I almost wanted to say something, but it would have dampened the mood, so I left it.

I took Kotone's arm and we set off for the shrine together. Kizuna sat waiting for us on the steps, looking magnificently cute in her shrine maiden's outfit, in which she would be conducting the ceremonial dance that evening. Miaka soon arrived, wearing a grass-green yukata decorated with cherries that matched the glorious red of her hair. I had to make a conscious effort to avert my eyes, or she would have thought me rude for staring. And yes, I know I never care about that when it's the waitresses at Angel Mort, but it's different with a club member.

Fortunately, my moment of embarrassment did not last long. Naoya and Saki turned up together, and it was time for me to announce the beginning of club activities. No matter what was going on in the outside world, the annual series of eating contests was an event that could not be postponed.

About an hour later, as we were taking a moment to breathe in between rounds, I caught sight of Mother's conspicuous green hair in the middle of the crowd. She and Father were hanging out with Satoko and Azusa; they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. I didn't bother to greet them; I'm sure they were glad to have a day off from parenting. A while later, we passed Grandma Akane and Kasai sitting down together. I stopped to ask where Grandpa Juntarou was.

"Oh, he's chatting with his brother somewhere," she said.

I remembered that I had to pretend I didn't know the Misoras were at the festival.

"Uncle Zenichi? He's here?"

"Yes, he's here with his family. They're somewhere around."

I glanced at Naoya. "Hey, sorry to interrupt the contest – can we go and say hello to them? I don't think you've met my cousins yet. And Miaka certainly hasn't."

"Sure." Naoya sounded as though he didn't care either way.

"You want us to tag along?" said Saki.

"You may as well."

So I led the way as the six of us went to look for the Misoras. It wasn't difficult to find them; Mami's pink hair is nearly as distinctive as Mother's green. Yuka, Daisuke and both kids were in a tight group, aware that they were all outsiders; there was no sign of Juntarou and Zenichi.

"Good morning!" I called out to them.

"Good morning, Akito-kun," Daisuke said with a polite bow. "These are your friends?"

"Yes – this is Ryuuguu Naoya, Teramachi Miaka, Fujiura Saki and Furude Kizuna. You know my sister Kotone, of course. Everyone, these are my cousins on Grandpa Juntarou's side – Misora Daisuke-san, Yuka-san, Mami-kun and Hibiki-chan."

Hibiki snuggled into the folds of Mami's yukata. Mami reached down and ruffled her hair.

"Akito-kun!" she laughed. "What kind of way is that to introduce us?" She turned to Naoya with an enormous grin. "You can call me Mami-_chan_, of course."

"Um... pleased to meet you... Mami-chan." Naoya evidently found this difficult. Mami had clearly made an impression on him. He could hardly keep his eyes from straying down towards her curves, accentuated as they were by the shimmering fabric of her emerald-green yukata. Miaka looked a little more uncertain how she felt about the newcomer; she reached down, almost as if she wanted to pull Naoya away, and then withdrew again.

"I have cookies," Hibiki said abruptly. She brought them out on a large tray, and Kotone and Kizuna were enthralled, gazing over them and studying each one as if it was a work of art and tasting it would be an act of sacrilege. Miaka and Naoya just took one each, nibbled them thoughtfully, and broke into appreciative smiles. Saki, oddly enough, hung back. She glanced at me for a second, and I could tell from her expression that she was wondering what was going on, what my motive was for introducing the Misoras. Well, she wasn't going to find out.

"I haven't been in Hinamizawa for _years_!" Mami said, turning around as though trying to take in as much of the scenery as she could. This was a complete lie, as she had been to the festival last year and the year before, but I didn't say anything. "Hey, Miaka-chan, do you think you could take me round and show me the sights?"

"Um... actually, I'm a newcomer to the village myself..."

"Oh, that's too bad." She swept around, as though this meant Miaka was no longer of any interest to her. "How about you, Naoya-kun?"

"I suppose I could. Don't you want Akito-kun..."

"But I know Akito-kun already, and I'd like to get to know _you_." She inched herself towards him, tilting her head upwards to gaze into his eyes, and I knew then that he would do anything she asked of him. Not even because he expected to get anything out of it. For someone like Naoya, it would be enough that he could go home afterwards and remember that he did something to make a pretty girl happy.

"What about the contest, senpai?" said Saki.

"Lunch break!" I said, clapping my hands to make it official. "We'll resume club activities this afternoon. That all right with everyone?"

Naoya could do no more than nod; Mami had already taken his arm and was leading him away. Kotone and Kizuna had no complaints; they were still busy admiring Hibiki's cookies. Miaka looked uncertain.

"What shall we do now, then?" she asked. "Saki-chan, are there any games you want to have a go at?"

"I think I'm going to go and see that Mother and Azusa aren't getting up to any mischief," she said, giving me a knowing glance and a wink.

"Okay then. Akito-kun?"

"I'll take you on at the hoopla, if you like."

"Suits me." She turned to Daisuke and Yuka, who had been chatting to each other for a while. "It was very nice to meet you, Misora-san."

The Misoras bowed to her in return, and we parted. I led Miaka off towards the hoopla, and Saki vanished into the crowd. I suddenly realised that I was alone with Miaka for the first time since we played that ridiculous game of cricket. Things had changed so much since then – my feelings, and perhaps hers too.

We walked together in uncomfortable silence. I wanted so badly to open my heart to her, but I could not. All the secrets I had learned hung in the air like a barrier between us, and when I glanced at Miaka and saw her smiling at me, I could no longer guess what she was feeling behind that smile. Was she still worried that Anzu was going to be murdered, or had she now dismissed that all as nonsense? Was her mind still on what she had learned about Rena, and was she just keeping her smile on for Naoya's sake? Or was she thinking about me, trying to work out what was going on behind _my_ silence? No, of course not. All the same, I had to look away in case she guessed too much. Tomitake still had not shown up.

We got a little lost: for a moment I forgot where we were meant to be going, and I guess Miaka must just have forgotten to remind me, or else she didn't want to say anything until she absolutely had to, out of politeness.

Then we turned a corner, and I saw the hoopla up ahead, and let out a deep sigh. I couldn't help myself. Those few precious moments were already over, and maybe they would be all I would ever get.

"Akito-kun?" Miaka said cautiously.

"Yeah?"

"Won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

My skin jumped as I felt the touch of her fingers against the back of my hand.

"You're such a bad liar, Akito-kun."

I ignored her.

"Please talk to me."

"I thought you wanted to play the hoopla."

"I want to know what's troubling you," she said gently.

I scowled at her. "And, now that you've got me alone, I suppose you're not going to give me a moment's peace until I've told you everything."

"Exactly!" She beamed. I tried to hold myself together, but I could feel my heart turning to liquid inside me. "You don't know how persuasive I can be, Akito-kun. I'll hang on your arm all day if I have to."

I couldn't tell her how much I longed for her to do just that.

"Fine," I said at last. "If you really want to know. But can we go somewhere more private?"

"Of course." She slipped her arm into mine and smiled. "Let's go like this, so that it looks natural that we want to get away from the crowd."

And Saki, for one, would only be all the more likely to disturb us, I refrained from saying.

I kept my eyes straight ahead as the sights and sounds of the festival disappeared behind us. The last thing I wanted was to remind myself that I had this gorgeous girl on my arm, heading together into the shadow of the Saiguden as if we were looking for a secluded corner to gaze at each other and then touch our lips together – no, I mustn't think about that! It just wasn't meant to be.

"So, what is it?"

I took a deep breath. "Do you know whom I mean by Tomitake Jirou?"

Miaka seemed surprised by the question. "Sure. He showed me round the village on my first day here."

"Ah, so you've met him. What do you know about him?"

"Not much. He's a photographer, and he likes to come here in the summer because it's so beautiful. He lives in... Tokushima, I think."

"Right. But that's only a small part of the truth about him."

"Oh?"

"He's an investigator. A sleuth, if you like. You remember what Naoya and I told you yesterday, about the sequence of mysterious deaths?"

Miaka nodded.

"Well, Tomitake was one of the ones investigating the mystery, along with a policeman called Ooishi, who's retired now – I think he went to live in Hokkaido."

"And what about Tomitake-san?"

"I'm worried about him. He should be here for the festival, but he hasn't shown up. At least – you haven't seen him?"

"No."

"Damn." I sighed. "I think I'll have to go back to the Manor and see if he's there."

"Why would he be?"

I could see that I wasn't going to get away without a full explanation.

"He thinks there's something going on with the Sonozaki family. That someone in the family might be a traitor, plotting against us. I think he may have decided to look round the Manor for clues, while we're all out at the festival."

"Not _all_," Miaka said thoughtfully. "Mion-san will still be there."

"Well, yes. But it's as empty now as it will ever be. He may even have taken Mion into his confidence."

Miaka frowned. "But if that's what he's doing, don't you think he wouldn't want us to look for him?"

"I guess not," I said. "But don't you understand? I can't just stand by while something like this is going on in my family."

She nodded. "And that's why you've been so anxious the last few days."

"Well, yeah..."

She gripped my hand with surprising strength. "I wish you'd spoken to us."

"Why, Miaka-chan?" I shook my head. "You hardly know me."

"Maybe not, but Naoya-kun is your best friend, and I _know_ you haven't been speaking to him either. He's been very worried about you."

I snatched my hand away. "Oh, you've been getting all nice and cosy with him, have you?"

"We've both been worried about you!"

I sighed and rested my head in my hands.

"Fine, whatever. I'm sorry I made you worry. But I really can't stay and talk about this. I've got to get back to the Manor."

"Yes, I know. And I'm coming with you."

I swung round. "Are you crazy?"

"Not at all," she said, glaring at me. "Akito-kun, I don't know what's going on, but if there really is someone plotting against your family, you could be putting yourself in danger!"

"I know. And that's my responsibility. That's why I can't let you come with me."

"It would be safer with two of us."

"I can't let you, Miaka-chan. As the club leader, I promised Mother and Rika-sama I'd take care of you."

"And you think going off by yourself into danger counts as keeping that promise?"

I couldn't look her in the eyes.

"No. But it's something I have to do."

"And I have to come with you."

"_No!_" I jumped away from her. "Why, Miaka?"

"I care about you, Akito-kun."

"This doesn't concern you. It's not your family."

"It _does_ concern me," she said in a fierce whisper. "Have you forgotten why I came to this village?"

I stared resolutely away from her. "No, of course I couldn't forget that..."

"I almost killed my mother because of the Hinamizawa Syndrome, Akito-kun. And no-one's been able to explain how I came down with the Syndrome, when I've never been in Hinamizawa in my life. There's some connection, isn't there? Don't look away from me, Akito-kun. They've got to be connected. The Syndrome, this chain of mysterious deaths in the past, and whatever this mystery is around your family now."

I snorted. "You've been reading too many detective stories."

"And now I seem to have fallen into the middle of one. I don't believe in coincidences, Akito-kun. Not when there's this many unexplained things piling up that all centre around the same group of people. There is a connection... and you know a lot more about it than you've told me. I'm not stupid, you know. Did you really think I wouldn't be able to work that much out?"

I didn't know what to say.

"Miaka-chan, look... I don't have time to argue..."

"I know. We have to get going."

"But..." I stopped, seeing the glint in Miaka's eyes.

"We really _don't_ have time to lose, and that's why you _have_ to let me come with you," she said. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>She took my arm again, but as soon as we were out of sight of the shrine precinct, I wrested it free. The fireworks had started, and that would cover up any noise we made.<p>

We were back at the Manor in a few minutes. From the outside, the building seemed deserted, though I knew a few servants would still be home, and Aunt Mion would probably be closeted in her study.

I drew to a halt outside the gate.

"What's wrong, Akito-kun?"

I pointed to a red Honda Accord in the driveway.

"That doesn't belong to any of the family. I don't know whose it is."

"Perhaps it's Tomitake's?"

"He usually stays in Okinomiya and takes the bus here. Could be, though, I guess."

"Let's find out." Miaka strode forward.

I grabbed her arm. "Wait! We have to sneak past the guard. Just in case."

Miaka grinned at me. "Just the words I was waiting for."

She vanished faster than I could blink. No, there she was, flat on the grass, snaking forward with no care for whether her yukata got dirty. I stood hypnotised by her movement. Then I remembered I had to get out of sight myself, and threw myself to the ground and crawled after Miaka. I must have looked so clumsy next to her.

When we came in sight of the front door, we stopped and looked up. There was someone there, outside the door, waiting for it to be answered. I drew my breath in sharply.

"Who is it?" Miaka whispered.

"Cousin Masashi, Uncle Hiroshi's son. What on earth is _he_ doing here?"

"Visiting your family?"

I tutted. "Akane and Hiroshi quarrelled fifteen years ago, and they haven't spoken since then. Neither Hiroshi nor Masashi would be welcome here."

I heard the door open, and I sank as flat as I could. Miaka was so silent, I wondered if she had disappeared.

"Can I help you?" said Gorou, our butler.

"Is Sonozaki Mion at home?"

"I'm afraid that Sonozaki Mion-sama is out. She went to the Irie Clinic half an hour ago. Would you like to step inside and wait for her?"

"Thanks. Yes, I'll do that."

And, soon enough, the sound of the door closing again.

"So, what do you make of that?" said Miaka.

"Weird. Why would Masashi come here and ask for Mion, of all people? He swore he'd never speak to her again."

"And Mion's out at the clinic, apparently. Do you know anything about that?"

"No, not at all."

"Hmm." Miaka pondered for a while. "Are we going inside?"

"No." We rose cautiously to our feet; I knew Gorou well enough to know that there was no danger he would take another look outside. "Tomitake wouldn't just come up and knock on the front door, so we shouldn't either." I indicated the path leading to the bunker that was the only direct entrance to the Labyrinth from the outside. "Tomitake wanted to have a look in the Labyrinth. That's where we should look for him."

"The... Labyrinth, Akito-kun?"

"It's an ancient system of tunnels under the estate," I explained as we disappeared together round the side of the building. "They were dug in the old days, when there was constant war between the various clans who wanted to rule this area – Onigafuchi, as it used to be known. Our ancestors dug the Labyrinth so they could escape from the Manor in an emergency, or launch surprise attacks on the enemy. The tunnels used to run all the way to the Furude Shrine and an exit in the mountains, but I think most of them have collapsed over the years."

"Akito-kun..." Miaka gripped my hand. I had to bite into my lip and remind myself that it didn't mean anything – but her hand was so soft and warm, I just wanted to hold onto it for ever.

"What is it?"

"I don't like the sound of the tunnels. I'm a bit claustrophobic."

"It'll be all right," I said. "I'm with you."

"I know," she said. "All the same, do we _have_ to?"

"Let's at least take a look at the bunker."

We walked up to it, not bothering about stealth any more. There was no-one around to see us. The bunker was customarily held shut with a heavy padlock, but now the door swung loose, the padlock hanging on by an inch. I relieved it of its misery, and held it up to Miaka.

"Looks like Tomitake did come this way."


	61. Part IV Ch 10 Home Alone

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**10  
>Home Alone<br>**

I pushed the bunker door open. A slice of light cut into the darkness, and stopped when it struck the rim of the stairs leading down to the Labyrinth. It looked like there was a black hole in the floor. The only sound was Miaka's teeth chattering with fear beside me. I clutched her hand.

"We'll go to my room and get a torch."

"Yeah... all right." The thought didn't seem to assuage her fear very much, but at least it was an excuse to put off the awful moment of going down into that chasm.

She followed me to a side door of the Manor, and we crept upstairs by a back staircase. It had been built for the use of the servants in the days when the family had many more, and wanted them to remain out of sight. Now, it was only used by the mice and spiders, which suited us perfectly.

As we came out onto the upper-floor corridor, I noticed that the door to Grandpa Juntarou's room stood ajar. I stopped and stared at it for a while. _Something_ was wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Akito-kun?" Miaka whispered. "What is it?"

"That door shouldn't be open," I said. "Grandpa and Grandma are at the festival... or did Grandpa decide to come home? But he went off with Uncle Zenichi. He wouldn't have brought him _here_, would he?" Zenichi was a Misora. Granpda might meet him at the festival, but bringing him to Sonozaki Manor was out of the question.

"Probably one of the servants left it open," said Miaka.

"They're normally more careful than that. They have to be, if they want to keep their jobs."

"Well, instead of just standing here, shall we find out?"

I nodded, and crept forward enough to open the door a little further and peer inside the room. There was no-one inside – but the third drawer of Grandpa's filing cabinet was wide open. Forgetting about stealth, I threw the door open and rushed inside. Miaka followed.

"Well, I can't see any signs of tampering with the lock," I said after I'd taken a look. "But I'm not an expert. Someone like Karen could certainly open this without leaving any signs I'd be likely to spot."

"Is anything missing?"

"How on earth would I know?" I ruffled through the papers. "No empty folders. If anything _has_ gone, it was an individual document, so whoever took it knew what they were looking for."

"But Akito... if there really was a thief, wouldn't they just close the cabinet afterwards, so the family would never even know they'd been here?"

"Good point," I said. "I can only assume the thief was in a hurry, because they feared being caught –"

"When the whole family are out at the festival?"

"Well, maybe they had to be somewhere else, and had to get away before their absence was noticed –"

"If there really was a thief," Miaka repeated.

"Look, I know Grandpa Juntarou," I said. "He sits at breakfast each morning reading his newspaper, bored with the family and bored with life. Money is about the only thing that still interests him. Leave his filing cabinet wide open? Never."

"One of the servants?"

"Let's go to my room so we can talk in private," I said. "There's nothing more we can do here anyway."

* * *

><p>I couldn't help noticing, as we stepped into my room, that Miaka winced at the sight of the mess, and wrinkled her nose. Yeah, I guess she has a point. But I never thought I'd be showing a gorgeous girl into my room any time soon – and no, I don't mean it like that!<p>

Miaka waited in the doorway as I fumbled in a drawer for the torch.

"What is all this about?" she said.

"_Think_, Miaka," I said. "Sure, it could just be one of the servants. But they've been in the family for ages, and I'd swear they're all loyal to us. But who else is in the house right now? Someone who doesn't have any loyalty to this branch of the family."

"Your cousin Masashi," Miaka whispered.

"And Gorou told him that Mion's out, and he knows the rest of the family are at the festival. The perfect time for him to do some prying around, don't you think?"

I had found the torch now. I turned to face Miaka, grim determination written on my features.

"Akito-kun? What are you going to do?"

"I want to see whether he really is waiting in the drawing-room."

I strode out of the room, and Miaka shuffled along at my side.

"You really think he's the thief?" she whispered.

"I want to make sure for myself that he isn't," I returned.

"But, Akito-kun, it doesn't make sense. If he wanted to steal a document, it's a bit stupid of him to knock on the door and announce himself so the whole family knows he's here."

I grunted. I shouldn't have told her to think; she was better at it than I was.

"Well, maybe he didn't come here intending to steal." I lowered my voice as we descended the main stairs. "Maybe it was only when he heard that Mion was out that he decided to take a look around."

Miaka sighed. "Akito-kun..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry to be blunt, but are you sure you aren't just _trying_ to put the blame on Masashi because he's the outsider, and you don't want it to be anyone you trust?"

I scowled at her. I didn't know how else to answer.

"Let's just have a look and see whether he's there. Then we'll know."

I crept forward to the door of the drawing-room and listened for a moment. There was no sound. Well, if Masashi was inside, then it was nothing strange for me to go in and say hello to him. Holding my breath, I pushed the door open. The room was empty.

"Don't you think maybe he just got tired of waiting and went home?" Miaka said.

"It hasn't been that long."

"Gorou said Mion left half an hour ago, so she should be back any minute. And I think it's about fifteen minutes since we entered the house. That's a long time when you're just sitting and waiting."

Again I didn't have an answer, so I ignored her and walked over to the window.

"Hey, Miaka!"

"What is it?"

I pointed down towards the driveway. Masashi's red Honda Accord was still there.

"That settles it," I said grimly.

Miaka stared down at the car for a minute.

"Doesn't this work against your theory, Akito-kun?" she said at last. "You said the thief left the filing cabinet open because they were in a hurry to get away. Okay, if it was Masashi, that fits, he didn't want anyone to notice he wasn't in the drawing-room any more. But then why would he disappear? And why leave his car?"

"You really do read too many detective stories."

"Oh, don't get cross with me because I made a good point," said Miaka. "It's childish, and it doesn't help us get anywhere."

"Sorry."

"That's all right. So, if Masashi isn't the thief, who else might it be?"

"It's got to be someone close to the family," I said slowly. "They knew where to find the filing cabinet and where to find the document they wanted. And there was the theft from cousin Toshio's filing cabinet as well..."

"You didn't tell me about that."

I grimaced. "Sorry. I'll explain later."

"All right." Miaka closed the door and settled down on a cushion. "I don't know your family very well. Is there anyone we can definitely rule out?"

I sat down opposite her and considered. "Most everyone's at the Watanagashi festival – except Aunt Mion, Uncle Hiroshi and Masashi. And Mion's at the clinic. At least, that's what Gorou said, and it would be easy enough to check with Irie-sensei whether she really did go there."

"She could have taken the document before she left the house."

I screwed up my face. I could hardly believe we were talking seriously about the possibility of _Aunt Mion_ stealing something from Grandpa. Still, Miaka hadn't known my family for long, so I had to consider things from an outside perspective if I was to find arguments that would satisfy her.

"Yes, but she's been alone in the house all morning. Plenty of time to take whatever she wanted and close things after her so that no-one would know. It can't be her."

"She could have been called away in the middle of searching the cabinet, but I agree, it's not likely. Let's eliminate her for now."

I took a deep breath. "Mother and Father were hanging round with Satoko and Azusa when we left them. They couldn't get away without it causing comment."

"And Saki was going to keep an eye on them, wasn't she? We can ask her whether the four of them really did stay together."

I nodded. "Uncle Zenichi was with Grandpa, so he's out too. None of the Misoras would have known which room was Grandpa's, anyway."

"Unless they had a contact inside the house."

"No-one in the house would sell information to the Misoras," I said quickly.

"You should suspect _everyone_, Akito-kun."

"That's ridiculous," I retorted. "I've known these people all my life. I suppose next you'll tell me I should even suspect Kotone!"

Miaka laughed. "I wouldn't go that far. She was with Kizuna and Hibiki, anyway."

"Oh good, I'm so glad she has an alibi..."

Miaka ignored this. "Who else is there?"

"Um." I have such a large family, I forget a few of them sometimes! "There are two more great-uncles, Yoshirou and Saburou. I don't think Yoshirou was at the festival. He's not very close to the rest of us."

"And Saburou?"

"He was there, of course. He and Grandma are very close. He will have brought his children – there's Toshio, the one whose filing cabinet was broken into, and Chiharu and Karen." I scowled. "Toshio suspects Karen, I know that. But that's only because she likes to pretend she's some kind of ninja."

"Your cousin is a ninja?" Miaka said with a smile.

"It's her way of trying to get attention. She talks as if there are conspiracies and enemies everywhere. There's nothing in it really, of course. Anyway, I don't remember seeing them, but I'm sure they were all there."

"And any of them could have found an excuse to slip away for a while."

"That's true." I frowned. "And we don't know whether Yoshirou has an alibi or not. He may have come to Hinamizawa by himself."

"Do you think that's likely?"

I paused to consider. "You know, in a traditional family like ours, the younger generation find it difficult to go against the elders. That's why I find it so hard to believe that Karen would really steal from the family. But the elders, they don't have Oni-baba – Oryou-sama, I mean – to keep them in check any more."

There was a long silence. Miaka stared at the floor and fidgeted with her hands as she tried to work all this out. Then suddenly she said, "Akito-kun, what about the Labyrinth? Weren't we going to –"

"Yes, and we'd better get on with it," I said. "Mion could get back at any moment, and I don't want her to find us here."

"The others will probably have noticed by now that we're not at the shrine any more."

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "Oh well, we can deal with them later. They'll probably just think we went off... you know, to have some privacy." I couldn't look at Miaka as I said this. But she made no reaction to the idea. She probably didn't care because she knew there wasn't and could never be anything in it.

* * *

><p>We went back to the side entrance by the same route, stopping at each corner to check that there was no-one around. The servants all got a half-day for the Watanagashi festival, taking it in turns so there were always some of them still at work. But none of them were in our way. We were soon back at the bunker, and I shone the torch down the stairs into the tunnel entrance. Miaka stood close to me and shivered.<p>

"Are you all right?" I asked her.

"I'm fine. And get that hand off me."

I quickly withdrew it. "Sorry. I was only asking –"

"I can take care of myself, you know."

"You said that you were claustrophobic –"

"That just means I don't like doing this. It doesn't mean I can't. Yeah, I'm scared. But we've got to find out where Tomitake went, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Then let's not stand here arguing. Let's go."

She strode purposefully into the darkness, and I hurried down the stairs after her.

The daylight soon faded behind us as we went deeper into the tunnel. Only the pale beam of the torch showed a narrow way ahead. The air was heavy with the sound of Miaka's breathing, steady and controlled. I knew she was fighting to hold herself together, but I didn't try to touch her hand again. It grew colder and more humid as we got further in, and I began to make out other sounds, the dripping of water somewhere in the tunnels, and scrapes and bumps as if something was moving about. It could have been a person or an animal, or just a loose rock breaking off from the tunnel wall. Miaka started to go faster. I shot her a glance, but it was too dark to read her face. Was she driving herself on so that she wouldn't show any fear? That wasn't right. We had to be more careful. But I didn't know how to tell her that. If there was anyone down here, we had to be silent – even if it was just Tomitake. If he found out that we'd come down here to look for him, he'd never trust me again.

Then I realised that we were coming up to the old well, and I had to grab Miaka's shoulder to hold her back. We slid to a halt. And then, suddenly, unmistakably, there was the sound of a muffled cry coming from somewhere below and ahead of us.

Miaka dropped the torch. She was trembling. I grabbed hold of her.

"Don't make any sound!"

"But... Akito, what was that?"

"I don't know. But I don't like it."

"There's someone down here!"

"Yes. And it's not Tomitake."

"What if they've caught him? What if they're killing him?"

I reached down, grabbed the torch, and flicked the off switch.

"I'd rather not find out. If that is the enemy, they wouldn't hesitate to kill us too."

"We could have saved him," she sobbed. "We shouldn't have taken so long."

I had no reply to this. It was true. Even when I saw the broken padlock, I'd never thought that Tomitake might still be in the Labyrinth _now_, that there might be any reason to hurry. Why should I? I was out of my depth. I'd never been involved in a case like this before. How was I meant to know how to handle it?

"Well, there's nothing we can do _now_," I whispered. "We're unarmed, and we can't bluff them –"

Miaka ground her teeth at me. I could tell she was fighting to hold back a retort, because we couldn't afford to start arguing and lose control of ourselves. I felt just the same way.

Then the air burst apart with the sound of a gunshot.

Thank Oyashiro-sama we had heard those sounds earlier. If that noise had hit us completely unprepared, I'm sure we would both have screamed and tried to run, and I don't like to think what might have happened.

I think I just mentally blanked out for a few moments. My hands froze stiff, and the torch dropped to the ground again. Miaka was curled up in a ball on the floor, whimpering.

I hardly noticed her. The echoes of that gunshot filled my mind.

They had killed Tomitake. That had to be it. After everything we'd said to each other, all my words about being careful, he'd thrown away his life after all. And only a few metres away from me. Was this my failure? Was there anything I could have done to save him?

My rational mind, what was left of it, kept saying no. He'd been determined to carry out his investigation, even if it led him to his end. If we'd gotten here sooner, most likely we'd only have run into the killers, and got shot ourselves. Or else run into Tomitake and then got the three of us all killed together.

And yet I couldn't silence that side of myself that kept on saying, _This is your fault._ I should have got the truth out of Rika _years_ ago. Then I'd have had more time to react to Tomitake's news. I could have got the family to watch over him, blockade all entrances to the Labyrinth –

No – Tomitake thought there was a traitor _inside_ the family. The evidence of Grandpa's filing cabinet seemed to confirm that. So I couldn't have brought the family in on this. That would just have given the traitor more freedom to move, more information to pass to the enemy. Who, then? Was there _anyone_ I could absolutely trust? Kotone, of course, and Rika-sama – and what use were they?

Miaka was slowly rising to her feet.

"Are you okay?" I whispered. Stupid question. Ignore that. "Miaka, you'd better run. Get back to the Manor and phone the police."

"What about you?"

"I've got to stay to keep an eye on them."

"Idiot – I can't run off and leave you!"

Her voice was trembling, and I wondered whether she meant that she couldn't bear to face the journey back through the tunnels alone. But there was no time to argue. I could hear the thud of someone moving about, and a scraping as if they were dragging something heavy. And the sounds were coming closer.

"Get back!" I whispered. "And be absolutely silent."

She was right; it was too risky for her to go back. If we just stayed still and let them go past, we would be safe. I turned off the torch, and we huddled tightly against the rocky wall.

I tried to be absolutely still. A rock was digging into my shoulder, but if I moved, I might break it loose and make a noise. Miaka's breathing was harsh and irregular. We were pressed against each other, and I thought I could hear the fevered pounding of her heart – but it might have been my own. A metallic clang rang through the tunnel, so close. The men must have reached the rim of the well. There were two ways they could go: further up the ladder and into the tunnel that led to the old torture chambers, or else they would come right past us. We had to make as little noise as if we weren't even there. Otherwise we would both die, I had no doubt of that. I wished I could jump out and fight them, but it was impossible. We were unarmed, and they would be stronger. I couldn't risk Miaka's life as well as my own. Besides, we had to stay alive, so that Tomitake wouldn't have died for nothing.

There was a click as one of them switched on his own torch. At least he kept it pointing straight in front of him. They wanted to get out as quickly as possible, with no thought of looking around to see if anyone was there.

He grunted, and heaved something forward, with a rasping noise as it ran over the floor of the tunnel. Was that – Tomitake's body? Why were they taking it with them?

Miaka gripped me tighter, and I felt a tear drip onto my shoulder as they came past us. I just closed my eyes and prayed to Oyashiro-sama that they would not notice us. They couldn't have been more than two metres away. But the prayer seemed to work: they went right past us, picking up speed as they reached a straight portion of the tunnel and dragging the body – if it was a body – became easier.

Then it must have caught on a jutting-out rock or something, because it slipped and hit the ground with a heavy thump. The man swore, and turned to lift it up again.

"None of that. You're coming with us to Satoko's house, you are."

I could not entirely stifle a gasp.

The scraping noise suddenly stopped. They had stopped moving. The man was listening out for the slightest of noises. He had heard us, or he thought he had. He turned and shone his torch back down the tunnel towards us. I could see him, a silhouette framed against the not-quite-blackness of the tunnel. He was about ten metres away. The beam of the torch slowly turned and roamed around, probing around us.

I placed a hand over Miaka's mouth and held myself still. There was nothing else we could do.

"Come on!" the other man called out. "Mion could be home at any minute, you know!"

The first man grunted and turned away again. The noise resumed as he dragged the body after him. At last, the two of them were far enough away that I felt I could breathe normally again.

Miaka pulled my hand away from her mouth.

"What was that for?" she hissed.

"You were going to scream. I could feel it."

"I... so what if I was?"

"I know," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I thought we were going to die –"

"So did I, for a moment. But they're gone now."

"Then let's get out of here."

We crept forward, back up the tunnel towards the bunker. I didn't turn on the torch again. I knew my way, and we couldn't be sure the men wouldn't slow down or decide to take another look behind them.

When we reached the stairs, they were still there, ahead of us, taking more time to haul the body up. We hung back and waited. It was easier now that we had the the exit in plain sight. Miaka's breathing was normal again. My eyes strayed towards her, just to check that she was all right. Then I turned away again.

At last, the men disappeared into the light at the top of the stairs. There was a clang as the door of the bunker slammed shut.

And then an ominous click as they closed the padlock.


	62. Part IV Ch 11 Suspicion

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**11  
>Suspicion<strong>

I had no chance of restraining Miaka. She sprang up the stairs and lunged towards the door. In another moment she would have yanked at it and tried to force it open, and they would have known we were there and it would all have been up. Somehow, she held herself back just in time. I ran up to her. She swung round and stared at me. Her eyes were wide and her whole body was trembling.

"Akito, is there another way out of here?"

"Calm down, Miaka. They might still hear us. Yes, we can get back into the house through the cellar."

"That... that means going through those tunnels again..."

"I'm afraid so."

She screwed up her face. For a moment I thought she was about to let out a scream, and I wanted to jump out and hold her down. But "It's okay. If we have to do that. You promise there's a way out?"

"I promise," I said. "But we should hurry. They've got a huge head start on us now. Follow me."

Miaka kept close beside me as we went back down again. I wanted to say something – to let her know that there was nothing to be afraid of, that the enemy had already been here and left. They had no reason to come back; and from the sound of it, they were already away on a more urgent errand. But there was no point in arguing now; the important thing was to get out of here as fast as we could. And I can't deny that I liked the feeling of her touch on my arm, the sense of strength and tenderness, a fragile spirit frantically clinging on to life.

But I couldn't say anything about that, and so I just said nothing.

"Akito?" Miaka said after a while.

"Yes?"

"Please... keep talking to me. It helps a little."

"All right," I said. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well... those two men. I got the feeling that you knew them."

"Yeah," I said heavily. "Tsushima Shouichi and his younger brother Kenji. They're two of our clan's minor lieutenants. And up until now, I would have sworn they were entirely loyal to us."

"So _they_ are the killers..."

"Well, they are the ones who fired the gun," I said. "But you can be sure there's someone behind them. Someone must have persuaded them to switch sides – or else bought them. Neither of them would have the imagination to come up with a scheme like this on their own."

We were threading our way through the tunnels now. We kept our voices low, just because that was the done thing when you were discussing matters as deadly as this. But I could sense that, in some illogical fashion, it really was helping Miaka to be less afraid. Her mind was fully absorbed by the mystery now.

"And you still think that's someone within your family?"

"It has to be," I said. "Remember the theft from Toshio's files, and now there's the theft from Grandpa Juntarou. Somone outside the family wouldn't have known where to look for the documents they wanted. And yes, that applies to junior lieutenants as well."

"So whom do you suspect?"

"I – hang on a moment. We're coming up to the well."

We stopped, and I shone the torch aroudn until I found the ladder leading up the side of the well. It was ancient and rusted, but it would still take our weight. We used parts of the Labyrinth for storage, and this ladder was checked regularly. It had to be. If it gave way while someone was climbing it, the bottom was a long way down.

"I take it we're going up," said Miaka.

"No – that just leads to the dungeons, and they'll be locked. If we go down, we can get into a tunnel leading to the wine cellar."

"Just so long as you're sure there's a way out."

"I promise."

"That's... where it happened, isn't it?"

I couldn't make myself say the word; I only grunted. Miaka took that as a yes.

"And they might have an associate guarding the tunnel."

"I guess they might. It's so unlikely, though. Why would they do that?"

"Because they wouldn't want anyone snooping around."

"There's nothing to see now, anyway." _Except for Tomitake's blood all over the rock_, I thought. _But that will dry soon enough, and dried blood is hardly anything unusual in these passages._ I didn't say any of this out loud, of course. I didn't want Miaka to get frightened again. And the past of my family is hardly something I'm proud of.

"They might have left some clue. Shouldn't we go down and have a look?"

"We have to go past there anyway," I said, as indifferently as I could manage.

"All right. I'm going down first."

This took me by surprise. Before I could say anything, Miaka was already twisting herself round and feeling out for the next rung of the ladder.

"Miaka... are you sure?"

"It's only common sense," she said. "Put the one first who's most likely to fall."

I grunted, and started down the ladder after her. I soon reached the entrance to the tunnel, and shone my torch down the passage ahead of me.

Miaka wasn't there.

"_Miaka!_" I cried out. I must have sounded terrified for just a moment.

"I'm down here." Her voice was coming from right down at the bottom of the well.

"What are you doing down there?"

"Isn't this the way?"

"No, there's an opening up here. You'd better come back up."

There was a pause.

"Akito...," she said. "I think you'd better come down here."

"What is it?" I was already scrambling down the ladder.

"There's something down here. Something... or someone."

I jumped off the bottom of the ladder, landing with a thud on the hard earth. We were in a circular space around three metres in diameter. I shone the torch down at the floor – and gasped.

It wasn't even seeing a body that was the surprise. I'd almost expected it. But that face – those wide and empty eyes – the mouth, frozen in a snarl of fear and seething hatred –

"It's not Tomitake," I whispered.

"Huh?"

"It's cousin Masashi!" I bent over the body. "I'm sure of it. He's been stabbed through the heart."

"He's... dead, then?"

"He's dead, all right. Still warm. We'd better not touch him."

"Please let's just get out of here," said Miaka.

* * *

><p>We got off the ladder at the side tunnel that led deeper into the Labyrinth. We didn't bother to look around for clues. Now that we had a body to tell them about, the police would do a thorough search. We just had to get out and contact them as quickly as we could. I was too shocked to do a good job of looking around, in any case.<p>

"I'm sorry, Akito-kun," Miaka said softly.

"It's okay," I said. "I mean... I don't feel much grief. He was my cousin, but we hardly knew each other. His father quarrelled with Grandma Akane before I was even born."

"Still... it's a horrible thing."

"I know. I think he had a wife and two children. Poor things."

"We've got to find out who's behind all this," Miaka said in a fierce whisper.

I reached out and almost grabbed her hand, I was so grateful. For the first time, I really felt that I didn't have to face my problems alone.

"You're right," I said. "We can't rely on the police. They just won't act fast enough. Kumagai is a good man, and a friend of the Sonozakis, going back a long way. But he's tied up by all the regulations he has to follow."

"So – just before you came to the well – you were about to tell me whom you suspect."

"Yeah," I said. "It's one of Akane's brothers – Hiroshi, Yoshirou or Saburou."

"How are you so sure?"

I sighed. "Well, let's think it through logically. All the evidence points to it being someone in the family, and someone high up. The Tsushimas wouldn't be swayed by one of the younger generation. Besides, everyone was hanging round in twos and threes at the festival. None of them could really have gotten away without everyone else noticing. We can ask whether anyone went away for a long time, but I already know what the answer will be."

"But whoever it was might have just given the Tsushimas their orders, and stayed at the festival so they'd have an alibi."

I shook my head. "I can't believe that. Someone met Masashi and persuaded him to come down into the Labyrinth, and killed him here. Someone rifled through Grandpa's filing cabinet. Someone who wasn't either of the Tsushimas."

"All right," said Miaka. "But, Akito-kun, I don't know anything about your family except the little you've already told me. So, tell me about each of them. Start with Hiroshi."

The well was a long way behind us now, and there were no sounds in the tunnels, except the steady thump of Miaka's heartbeat close by my side.

"Hiroshi quarrelled with Grandma Akane, as I said. I don't know all sides of the story, but he and Grandpa were both in favour of arranging a marriage between Masashi and Aunt Mion, and Grandma was against it."

"There's got to be more to it than that," Miaka said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I agree. That doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would lead to two siblings cutting each other off completely and not speaking for fifteen years."

"So, that would seem to make him an obvious suspect –"

"Maybe a bit too obvious," I said. "He's lived with his feelings of resentment all this time; why should he snap now all of a sudden? Besides, I can't believe he would kill his own son."

"If you haven't spoken to either of them in years, you don't know what bad feelings there may have been between them," Miaka said sombrely.

"Yeah, I guess not."

"And it's also possible the two of them were working together, and they fought because Masashi wasn't willing to go as far as Hiroshi wanted him to."

"Yeah, that's possible," I said. "And if we hadn't found Masashi's body, it would look even more plausible that the two of them were in it together. Maybe that's the red herring. Maybe that's what we're meant to believe."

I frowned at the walls. It was so hard to know what to believe, and talking it through didn't seem to be helping at all.

"What else can you tell me about Hiroshi?" Miaka said.

"Well, there is one thing," I said slowly. "Hiroshi _hated_ Satoko – far more than any of the others did."

"Fujiura Satoko, Saki's mother? How does she come into this?"

"The Tsushimas are planning to hide Tomitake's body in Satoko's house – you heard them. Either it's to frighten her, or, more likely, it's to cast suspicion on her. Then they get to eliminate Tomitake _and_ Satoko."

"But why would they do that? I mean, why Satoko in particular?"

"Fujiura Satoko is the best trapmaster in the village. If this is part of a plan to overthrow the Sonozaki family, she's the first person they would have to eliminate."

"Huh. Are we talking about the same woman?"

"There's no other Satoko in the village."

"All right," said Miaka. "Why does Hiroshi hate her?"

"Well, it's a long history. The Houjous – that's Father and Satoko's parents – they took the government's side in the Dam War. The whole village turned against them, but especially the Sonozakis. They were ostracised, including Father and Satoko, who were just kids back then. Then their parents died, Father disappeared for a year, and then Oyashiro-sama's curse came to an end. Oryou-sama felt it was time the Sonozakis made some reparation, and she did everything she could for Father and Satoko. She made the family support them, and she allowed Mother and Father to marry. And I guess Hiroshi felt it was all too much, like it was demeaning for the family to do so much for their former enemies. Really, it means he didn't like admitting they'd been in the wrong."

"Even though they were just children, and he was blaming them for what their parents did!"

"Exactly. Oryou-sama and Grandma both felt the same way as you. That may have been another factor in Grandma's quarrel with Hiroshi."

There was a long silence while Miaka took all this in.

"All right," she said at last. "That's Hiroshi... he would be an obvious suspect, but, as you said, that doesn't fit in with Masashi's death. So tell me about the other two."

I nodded. "Yoshirou runs several of the family businesses from his base in Okinomiya. Mother worked for him when she was a teenager. And it was Yoshirou and his wife who took Father in when he came back after he disappeared. They've always got on well with the main family, and they have no animosity towards Satoko."

"That sounds like you've already decided it can't be him," said Miaka.

"Well, I don't think it can be. He's just so timid and subservient, I can hardly suspect him of being the mastermind behind something like that."

"You can never be sure," said Miaka. "Even timid people will snap if the family make them bottle up their feelings for long enough. Beware the quiet ones, as Naoya-kun would say."

"There is that," I said uneasily.

"And Saburou?"

I took a deep breath. "Well... Saburou has to be the main suspect, I think. He's very intelligent and cunning. He _could_ come up with a plan and carry it out without anyone finding out. And it was from his house that Toshio's documents went missing. He could have taken it more easily than anyone."

"That doesn't apply to the theft from your grandfather..."

"It does, in a way," I said. "Saburou has always been very close to Grandma. He'd know that if they did catch him snooping through Grandpa's filing cabinet, he'd be able to come up with some excuse."

"And how does _he_ feel towards Satoko?"

"Oh, he respects her very highly," I said. "As one skilled strategist and politician respects another. He's happy to cooperate with her, but he would be equally happy to eliminate her if he had to."

"But you said he was close to your grandmother. Would he be equally happy to plot against _her_?"

I ground my teeth together. This was the weak spot in my argument, but I didn't want to admit it.

"I don't know," I said. "It really just seems incredible that _any_ of them would. But one of them is plotting against the family, there's no doubt about that. And honestly, I don't know any of them well enough to feel sure how they _really_ feel about the rest of us."

"Wait a second," said Miaka. "Don't I remember you mentioning another great-uncle – Zenichi?"

"Yeah. That's Grandpa's brother. He's not a Sonozaki."

"Still, didn't you say he was at the festival?"

"Yes, with his family, the Misoras – well, you met them. Misora Mami is his granddaughter."

"So tell me more about them."

I frowned. "The Sonozakis and Misoras have been enemies for hundreds of years. It's a family tradition. So when Grandpa and Grandma fell in love –"

"– it was just like Romeo and Juliet?"

"Oddly enough, you're not the first person to make that analogy. But yeah. They were both disinherited, but Oryou-sama relented enough to let them stay in the Manor. But Grandpa and Uncle Zenichi never entirely patched things up. To be honest, I rather think that Zenichi was in love with Grandma Akane too."

"But they're meeting each other today."

"I think it's mainly a matter of business. They're not friends any more, but they're not enemies either. It's not like Grandma and Hiroshi, who don't even speak to each other."

"Any chance of Zenichi being the cuplrit?"

I considered this. "Precious little, I'm afraid. He's connected to the family, but he _is_ an outsider. The same objections apply to him – he wouldn't have known where to look for those documents, and there's no reason the Tsushimas would be swayed by him."

Miaka sighed. "So, you mainly suspect Saburou but you can't be sure, and even if we do get out of her, we have no conclusive evidence and no reason to suppose the police will listen to us."

"Yeah. That's about the size of it."

"We've got to _do_ something, Akito." I couldn't help noticing how much she had grown in confidence. It sounded like her fear of the tunnels was all gone now."

"Sneak round to Satoko's house. Catch those men red-handed. They may still be there – they'll be slowed down by dragging the body, after all."

"Fat chance," I said. "There's no way they would drag the body down the main street, even in the middle of the festival. Most likely, they took Masashi's car keys, and they'll simply borrow his car to transport it."

"We could still go there and look ,couldn't we? There may be _something_."

"All right," I said. "But we still have to get out of the Labyrinth first. And then get through the Manor without being seen. I don't know how long we've been down here, but any of the family may be home by now."

Miaka nodded, and we hurried forward along the winding tunnel. At last it reached a straight stretch that, I knew, led up to the door to the cellar; this was our exit. There was a long corridor ahead of us, and on either side were racks of weapons, mostly relics of the family's past that had not been touched in decades. For a moment, I thought about arming myself with a rake or something; but there was no point. Our aim was to get through the Manor without being seen. There was no chance at all that the Tsushimas were still around. As soon as news of the murder got out, it would look suspicious if they had been hanging round the house at the time. They were dull, but neither of them was _that_ stupid.

So we just hurried down the corridor and tried the door at the far end. Fortunately, it opened easily, and we were in the cellar. I turned off the torch, and we tiptoed up the stairs. Miaka was so good at moving silently, a couple of times I had to look round just to be sure that she really was still there.

The door from the cellar into the house was ajar. Well, that was probably how the Tsushimas had entered the Labyrinth. I eased the door open, and waited. There was no sound. I slipped out into the corridor. Miaka followed, and let out a huge breath.

"Thank goodness we got out of that," she said.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm sorry, Akito-kun. I was really frightened down there."

"You did great," I said. "You were really brave."

"Thank you. We've got to get moving, though."

I nodded, and led the way through the back corridors. None of the family were around; no doubt they were all still at the festival. As we passed through the servants' kitchen, I caught a glimpse of a clock on the wall. I gulped. Miaka and I had been down there for _hours_, and I knew exactly what the others were going to assume. Ah well. Let them think what they liked. None of my friends had any contact with her people back in Kyoto, so it wasn't like they could spread any rumours. Besides, it was silly to start worrying about that kind of thing now. The safety of my whole family was at stake.

We slipped out through the side door, and then it was just a question of getting past the guard at the gate again. Then we were safe, back out in the village streets, and even if we _did_ run into the Tsushimas, they had no way of knowing that we knew their secret.

Satoko's house was not far off. I showed Miaka how to get through the gate, and how to get in at a side door. Emi, as usual, was lazing in her basket; she gave only a feeble bark on seeing Miaka.

"How are you, Emi-chan?" I said. "It's a pity that _you_ can't tell us if anyone's been in the house."

"She's not much of a guard dog," said Miaka. "She wouldn't frighten off a six-year-old."

"Well, she's old now," I said. "She can still bark, but that's it. And what with the festival, there's no way anyone would hear her."

"Still – you'd think she'd show some interest if they brought a dead body into the house."

"Huh, that's right," I said. "Emi? Can you nose it out for us?"

Emi just looked up at me and feebly flapped her tail.

"No use in counting on her," I said. "Let's split up and search the whole house."

It took about ten minutes; a dead body is rather a large object, after all. We went into every room and searched thoroughly for everywhere it might be concealed. But there was no dead body, _nothing_. There was no sign that an intruder had ever been in the house at all.


	63. Part IV Ch 12 The Sisters

**(o)**

**Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter**

**12  
>The Sisters<br>**

Miaka and I bumped into each other in the hallway, and looked at each other with the same baffled expression and the same question on our lips. It was Miaka who first voiced it.

"So what do we do now?"

I took a deep breath. "We take the one person we _know_ is innocent into our confidence."

"And that's Satoko-san herself."

"Exactly."

So we hurried back to the shrine. The festival really was an all-day affair; the crowd had slowly swelled and was now at its height. Mumbling an apology, I began the heavy work of squeezing my way through. I steered towards the food stalls; our parents were just as keen on their traditional eating contests as we were. There was one hair-raising moment when I saw Naoya pass in front of me and almost ran straight into him; but I fell back into the crowd. Then Mami shot me a wink, grabbed Naoya's arm, and steered him away. Poor guy.

Then I caught sight of Mother's long green hair, which is pretty hard to miss. As I expected, she was in a group with Father, Satoko and Azusa, all of them busy on a huge pile of shaved ices. Miaka and I drew close, and gave them all a casual greeting, as though nothing was amiss.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," I said. "Aunt Satoko, can we talk to you in private? We could go to your house. It's very important."

"Well, sure," she said. "Is that me and Azusa, or just me?"

"I'm sorry, but we really do need to talk to you alone."

"Very well." She smiled at the others, and relinquished Azusa's arm. We threaded our way back through the crowd together, and returned to the Fujiura home. Emi looked up, but if she was surprised at seeing us again so soon, she gave no sign of it.

Satoko was already in the kitchen while Miaka and I were changing our shoes.

"Would you like some tea?" she called out.

Miaka and I glanced at each other. Refreshment was the last thing on our minds just then, but we both somehow felt it was impossible to refuse. So we all sat down together, and sipped our tea in nervous silence.

"So, what's all this about?" said Satoko.

I coughed. "Well... a couple of questions first. Do you know if there's another Satoko in the village?"

"No. I mean, yes, I know that there isn't."

"And have you seen Tomitake Jirou today?"

"Not at all."

"All right." I took a deep breath. "Aunt Satoko – there's a conspiracy to destroy the Sonozaki family and get the Kanahebi to come and take over. One member of the family is a traitor and part of the conspiracy, but we don't know who. Tomitake-san was on their trail, and we think they've got rid of him to keep him silent. We heard them say they were going to hide his body in your house – but we've looked, and it isn't here."

Satoko, being Satoko, accepted this without so much as a blink.

"You really saw these men," she said.

"Yes. We both did – Miaka will confirm it." She nodded.

"I wasn't doubting you," said Satoko. "Just making sure that I know where we're starting from. Where did you see them?"

"In the Labyrinth. They actually dragged the body out right past us, but they didn't see us."

"Tomitake's body?" She shuddered. But there was no time to spend on words of comfort.

"It was too dark to see it. But I'm sure it was a body."

"And could you see who the men were?"

"I knew their voices. It was Tsushima Shouichi and Kenji."

"You're sure of this," Satoko said sharply.

"Absolutely."

Satoko looked from one of us to the other – but Miaka couldn't back me up, as she had never met the Tsushimas, so she just gazed resolutely ahead.

"And they were planning to hide the body _here_, in my house?"

"Yes. And they shut us in, so we had to go through the tunnels to get out, so they had plenty of time to hide it. That's why we looked around the house before we came to get you."

"Thank you. It was well meant, but you should have come and got me at once." Satoko drummed on the table with her fingernails. "We've _got_ to find the body. With that, if you two can positively identify Shouichi and Kenji as the killers, we can go to the police."

I frowned. "Technically, I'm not sure we can. We didn't actually see the murder being committed – we didn't dare to shine our torch towards them in case they saw us. We just heard a gun go off, and afterwards saw them dragging the body back past where we were hiding."

Satoko reached across and placed a hand over mine. "You did fine, Akito. I'm glad you didn't go putting yourselves in danger. That's enough to prove that the Tsushimas are members of the conspiracy. Now we just have to prove that a murder actually took place."

"Oh, I don't think we'll have difficulty with that," I said. "You see... they also killed cousin Masashi."

"Masashi?" Satoko's eyes opened wide. "He was here in Hinamizawa?"

"He actually came to the Manor. Earlier, we saw his car, and watched Gorou showing him in."

Satoko started drumming her fingers again. "Sorry, I'd like to be clear about exactly what happened. Go over the sequence of events again – in order."

So I did. I told her all about our stealthy entrance onto the Manor grounds, our watching of Masashi, how Gorou had said Mion was at the clinic, our exploration of the Labyrinth, and everything we had seen and heard. Miaka didn't say much, but she helped fill in when my memory failed me about some small detail.

When we had finished, Satoko remained silent for a while, as she let everything we had said filter into her consciousness. Then she stood up abruptly and said, "We've got to see Mion."

"Huh?"

"Do you know why she went to the clinic today?"

"No idea."

"Hmm. Irie wouldn't tell us if we asked. But it sounds like the killer knew about her visit to the clinic and took advantage of it. We've got to find out exactly what happened, and how much Mion knows."

"Well, all right," I said doubtfully. "But what happened to trying to find the body?"

"That's not so important any more," said Satoko. "I believe you when you say it isn't here. And at the moment we have no other leads on where it might be. But it sounds like if their plans have progressed this far, we don't have much time left to stave off disaster. So we have to follow up the leads we _do_ have, and pray to Oyashiro-sama that it gets us somewhere."

* * *

><p>There was nothing more to be said, so we hurried back to the Manor, this time going past the guard quite openly. Gorou told us that Mion was in the upstairs parlour, so we went up and knocked. Mion called out, "Come in!"<p>

She was alone, in an armchair under the window, but with the curtains closed, reading a huge novel. She looked up, and her eyes widened in surprise as she saw who we were. Satoko greeted her with a warm smile.

"I hope you're well, Ane-ue?"

"Yes, very well, thank you."

"I'm glad to hear it." She perched herself on the rug, and looked steadily up at Mion. "You see, earlier your butler told me you'd gone to the clinic, so I was worried that you weren't feeling well."

"I'm fine." Mion sounded as if she wanted nothing more than to return to her novel.

"So, why did you go to the clinic, Ane-ue?"

Mion lowered her book and, for some reason, looked across the room at me. "I'm sorry. That's private."

"I didn't mean to cause offence..."

Mion hesitated, and then smiled. "That's all right. I'm just a bit tetchy, I suppose. Watanagashi – you know."

"I know." Satoko reached up and clasped hands with Mion, and for a while the two of them just held each other in silence. Miaka and I stood back in the doorway with our heads bowed.

"Still," Satoko said at last, "it must be lonely, staying here all day when everyone else is out."

"It's nice and peaceful," said Mion. "One day out of the year that I can have to myself, just to think. And remember." She closed her eyes for a moment.

"You haven't had any other visitors?" Satoko said casually.

"None at all."

"Oh? Wasn't Tomitake-san going to drop in?"

Mion tutted in mild exasperation. "You're right. Shion _did_ say she'd arranged that with him. Maybe he's at the festival, and he'll come here later?"

"I didn't see him at the festival," said Satoko.

"I hope he didn't come here while I was out – he might think it rude that I wasn't here to welcome him. Though you'd think he would have just sent a text to ask where I was."

"Let's text him now."

"Sure."

Mion put her book down, and looked around as she tried to remember where she'd left her phone. We all sat in anxious silence as she sent the message.

"Well, that's that." She looked back across at Satoko. "Was there anything else?"

Satoko sighed. "I'm concerned about you, Ane-ue."

"I don't know why."

"Yes you do. There's something bothering you."

Mion squatted down opposite Satoko, and faced her with fire in her eyes. "And what if there is?" she said. "You know how I feel, Satoko. You know I'm carrying a wound that will never heal."

Suddenly, Miaka lifted herself and walked across the room to Mion, who watched her in surprise.

"I know how you feel, Mion-san," she said softly.

"Do you? Do you _really_?"

Miaka was halted for a moment by the strength of Mion's glare – but only for a moment. She knelt down close to Mion and said, with her head bowed, "I think I do. Don't you remember why I'm here in Hinamizawa?"

"Of course I remember –"

"So you know that I very nearly killed my mother – I might have killed both my parents if I hadn't collapsed just then. I can never forget that, not even for a moment. Akito's been very kind and tried to distract me with his club games, but it's still constantly on my mind. I might have lost them for ever. I very nearly did. And I just can't stop myself thinking about what life would be like without them. I would be alone, with no-one to turn to for comfort in the darkest hours. I know _exactly_ how that must feel."

Mion stared at her in uncomprehending silence. I felt that there was _something_ she was on the verge of saying, but whatever it was just refused to come out.

At last she said, "Your parents must be very proud of you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Just look at you." And somehow, the glint of a smile found its way through the mist of her tears. "You're young, beautiful, athletic, everything a girl like you could want. And you still have time for someone like me, when I've done nothing to deserve it –"

"Don't say that, Ane-ue," Satoko said quietly.

"It's true, though. I often think that maybe nature just never intended us to live so long. When you get to my age, you're just full of cares and regrets, and when you look forward, there's nothing ahead except a wall of blackness, knowing you may have to carry them for another fifty years... you make sure you treasure your youth while you still have it, Miaka-chan."

"I will," she said. "But honestly, Mion-san, you're still young."

"Not really," said Mion. "Being the family head was a great burden, you know. I grew old before my time."

"Aunt Mion," I said, "if there's anything I can do to help –"

She looked up. "Thank you, Akito. But there's only one thing, really. Make sure you always take care of your sister."

"Huh? Kotone?" I said, startled. "I'll do my best, Aunt Mion, but honestly, I'm sure she manages fine by herself..."

I was taken aback by Mion's vehemence in response. "Really? Do you _really_ think so?"

I couldn't think of what to say. Perhaps Mion knew something that I didn't. I couldn't honestly say for certain that I knew that wasn't the case. But I didn't see what Kotone had to do with anything, anyway. And Tomitake and Masashi were _dead_, and here we were making small talk as if nothing had happened! I looked over towards Satoko. We had put all her trust in her, put her in charge and let her handle the situation. It had been her idea that we speak to Mion. But she hadn't said anything about those deaths. And how could Miaka or I bring up the subject if Satoko chose not to?

There was silence for a long time. Perhaps we had all of us run out of things we wanted to say. At last Satoko nodded and said that the three of us should leave. Mion picked up her book again, but then sighed and set it down. She walked over to the window, held the curtain open a tiny crack, and stood staring out into the sky. She was lost in her own thoughts now, and it would not have been polite to stay any longer.

* * *

><p>Satoko led us down to the drawing-room. As we entered, I looked all around for signs of Masashi having been here, of what he might have been doing, any message he might have left. But I could see nothing. I must have seemed to be quite distracted, for Miaka stepped over and put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. I didn't know how to respond.<p>

Satoko sat down and waited. Miaka and I sat down opposite her, keeping close together.

"Akito-kun, Miaka-chan," she said. "I'd like to ask whether either of you noticed anything just now."

"What kind of thing?" said Miaka.

"Well – what did you make of that little conversation?" she said.

I considered this for a while. "There _is_ something bothering Aunt Mion, I'm sure of it," I said. "And it's something more than usual, not just her reflections on the past. Aunt Satoko, you don't think – perhaps – she might already know about the conspiracy? That she might even know about Masashi's death?"

Satoko frowned. "I don't know," she said. "It's not like Ane-ue to be so secretive..."

"Satoko-san," Miaka said timidly, "do you think – maybe – it would be best if we just told Mion-san everything? Then we could just ask her directly what she knows."

Satoko shook her head. "She's chosen not to talk with us, and there's nothing we can do about that."

"But if she knew what we know, perhaps –"

Satoko's expression was grim. "I'm sorry, Miaka-chan," she said. "I have to respect her decision."

"Well, then, what _can_ we do?"

Satoko stared down at the floor. I knew that look: she never liked to admit defeat. But this time –

"Really," she said, "I'm afraid I have no idea."

We sat in silence for a while. At first I tried to keep my mind on the mystery, but it was a hot day, and so easy to be distracted by the tiniest things – the itch on the back of my neck where the sun was scorching it; the way the light formed swarms of butterflies on the opposite wall; and Miaka sitting next to me, so close I could feel her warmth, so close I could have reached out and held her, turned her towards me and bent my head down so that my lips touched hers – damn it! What was I doing, thinking about that at a time like this? Not that I had any right to think about it at any time. Tomitake and Masashi were dead, and Satoko – why wasn't she doing anything?

Fortunately, my torment came to an end at last when Miaka broke the silence.

"I've got an idea."

Satoko looked up at her. "Yes?"

"We could set a trap."

Satoko was certainly interested now. "What sort of trap?"

"Well, they've taken Tomitake's body away so that we have no evidence that a murder was committed."

"Of course."

"That means Masashi must have been killed by someone else. Or they would have taken his body away for the same reason."

"Wait," I said. "It was just chance that you found Masashi's body. If we hadn't come along when we did, it could easily have lain at the bottom of that well for years – until there was nothing but bones left there to find."

"Not really," said Miaka. "We were there because you _knew_ Tomitake was exploring the Labyrinth. Of course he'd tell someone where he was going. So when he went missing, the police would be bound to search the Labyrinth sooner or later – and they'd know that."

"Well, all right," I said doubtfully. "Where does that get us?"

Satoko clicked her fingers. "Well done, Miaka! You've got it!"

"Huh?" I said. "Got what?"

"Don't you see, Akito-kun?" said Miaka. "We can send for the police now, and they'll find Masashi's body in the well. Then we tell them everything we witnessed – we won't even have to lie. We just leave out the part where they dragged Tomitake's body past us. Then it will sound like we witnessed _Masashi's_ murder. That will give the police a reason to arrest the Tsushimas. It'll get them out of action for a while at least – and interrogating them might put the police onto the track of the man behind them."

She looked at me pleadingly, as though it mattered somehow what I thought of the plan. Well, that was touching, of course, but I wasn't in charge just then.

"I should have thought of that myself," said Satoko. "Well, there's no time to lose, so I'll phone Kumagai now. You two wait here for a moment."

Humming softly to herself, she walked away, leaving the door swinging behind her. We heard her footsteps fading away as she crossed the entrance hall.

And then, for the second time that day, the air split apart with a sudden explosion. It was followed by a heavy thud as something fell to the floor – and then silence.


End file.
